On My Terms
by KenSan1990
Summary: Kaiba intentionally started a relationship with Joey Wheeler over the Internet; Joey doesn't know it's Kaiba. Kaiba didn't know why, but it felt good. For the first time he was able to vent, but now Joey wants to meet Kaiba in real life; Kaiba agreed. S/J
1. Prologue

A/N:This was requested by DarkAngel048, so I hope you're interested in it.

* * *

Prologue.

I watched the lips of the many men around me, my eyes shifting from one to the next as they spoke. They were careful not to talk over one another as they knew I would have been irate if they did.

I let out a breath and tapped my hand on the table. They all stopped talking. I fiddled around with my computer, bringing something up on a screen that was situated in front of all of us. The men all turned their eyes to the screen and I began to speak, telling them about what was on the screen. I was very careful my words, knowing that they crept up on me and I wasn't able to wrap my tongue around them.

The men started talking again. I was sure they thought I looked crazy, watching them as they spoke, but they never asked any questions, at least not if their jobs mattered. Soon we were all finished, but I still watched their lips even when they weren't speaking to me. The quiet conversations ended when they walked out of the room and I was left at the head of the conference table.

My secretary entered the room. "Kaiba-sama," she poised a small package in my direction. "This was addressed to your office."

I took hold of the small manila package that look like it was stuffed to the more than it was capable of handling. I nodded to my secretary, and she walked out of the room without another word. I inched my fingers beneath the edges of the flap which was tightly sealed. The package ripped open, and it seemed to explode in my hands. A small flood of paper fell out of it, and I pinched my lips together. It looked like confetti over top my shoes, and it made me smile. As I kept looking at it I realized that every piece of paper was either written or drawn on. Some of them were half sheets of papers; some of them looked like they'd been run through a paper shredder; others were several pages, front and back, and they were stapled together. I picked everything up and put it on the conference table.

My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I reluctantly turned my attention away from the papers. There was a text message waiting for me:

_R u at work Blue?_

I cracked a grin and started to type.

_Just got out of a meeting._ I wasn't one for using text language, but the one I was texting never said anything to me about it. _What about y__ou Red?_

_Dbl shift. _I shook my head and wondered what kind of job he had. I had never asked him, and he had never asked me. All he knew was that I worked in a "management position". _I wnt 2 meet u irl_. The corners of my mouth downturned. I sighed. This wasn't the first time that I'd gotten this message, and it certainly wouldn't be my last. I closed my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose. How to respond kindly to him?

I jumped and turned at the touch of something on my shoulder. There was a man in a janitorial outfit standing behind me. "Gomen Kaiba-sama," he bowed, "I didn't mean to frighten you."

I looked back at the screen on my cell, and I wondered what to type. I looked back at this guy who still stood looking around dumbly. It was one of those moments where you wondered if it was alright to just ask someone a question. I hardly came across these moments in my life, but this was one of them. I was half tempted, but something in the back of my mind stopped me. I knelt to the floor and picked up a few stray pieces of paper and set them on the table along with the rest that had come in the package.

"You want me to take that paper out?" I turned to the man, realizing that he was moving his jaw. I had faintly heard him. My mind was scrambled. I didn't know how to respond to the text, what to do with the paper…but in the least...

"Leave now," I said to the janitor.

"Of course, Kaiba-sama," and he bowed his head again and walked out of the room. Once in my comfortable silence, I looked to my cell and composed:

_Alright._ After sending that messages, I thought about what I had sent, and then sent another message:

_But it will be on my terms._

This thing is, this story doesn't start with real life. This story starts with the Internet—with a whim.

* * *

A/N: This is short, I realize, but there will be more to come after this. I wanted to start and see what people thought. Till next time, KenSan out.


	2. Chapter 1

A/N: this is the first part, the part that got Kaiba involved. Also notice that there's something strange going on with Seto. Have fun.

* * *

Chapter 1.

I had set up a meeting at a local bar; it was something that was out of the way and that I could deal with Red in private. But I guess I should start by calling him by his real name: Joseph Wheeler. I wasn't actually sure why I had been talking to Wheeler for so long. So long being since the winter before—roughly thirteen months or so. It was all by accident, of course, that I had come across the opportunity to be able to speak with him unbiased.

Ever since I'd dealt with him in times like Duelist Kingdom and Battle City, I never had thought to myself that I would deal with him on a more human basis. I never thought it was possible. Joey Wheeler was a person that always grated my nerves. His voice especially.

I had come across him in a coffee shop one morning. I didn't mean to; I didn't want to. I tried my best to pretend that we hadn't noticed each other, but I couldn't deny something that was in front of me. I walked up to the counter, carefully looking out of the corner of my eye to him. He was sitting in a booth, his phone in his hands, his elbows waded on what I guessed was his coat. None of his friends were there. I sneered and looked back to the barista. For a moment it seemed like she was talking and there was nothing coming out of her mouth.

"What?"

I heard snickering from behind me, but I ignored it. "3.24," she said, as if there was nothing wrong. I handed her the money, and when she turned away I put my hand to my ear. I wasn't about to pick it in public. I looked again to Wheeler who had turned around in the booth, still looking at his phone. I wondered what could possibly have him that occupied.

In the time that it took for the barista to hand me back my change and for the coffee to actually arrive, I found my thoughts focused solely on Wheeler. I'd hardly ever seen him out of crisis context; I'd never seen him without his friends around. I wasn't about to call out his name and start a conversation; we hadn't fallen into the twilight zone, so it just wasn't going to happen. Still, I tilted my head to the side so I could get a better view of him, and I smirked.

My own phone was buzzing in my pocket. I pulled it out and looked at the number. I sighed. Business as usual. I pressed it to my ear, this time realizing that the small fault in my hearing seemed to have carried over. "Hold on," I said to one of the divisional managers on the line. I didn't explain to him why he needed to wait, but he stopped talking nonetheless.

The barista gave me my coffee and I turned to walk out of the coffee shop. Halfway through my pivot, I allowed my eyes to travel to Wheeler again. He was still immersed in his cell phone for whatever reason. I guess I probably looked the same, but when you're wearing a suit it isn't as strange. I thought that would be the last I would have to see of Wheeler—other than if I came across him in a more usual setting—but somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew it wasn't going to be that way.

"Talk now," I said to the manager. Once I was outside, everything seemed fine. There was nothing wrong with my ears, and I wondered if maybe it was the fault of bad reception.

I listened to the man as he rambled to me about the details of his division, and I nodded as I listened. When I got in the car I put the man on speaker and set it on the dashboard. "You're going to be here soon right?" he asked.

"Yes," I replied stoically, but inwardly I was berating him. I couldn't do everything for them. These were my days, however. Hectic as hell.

I let Wheeler fall from my mind when I arrived at the office, and the further along the day went, the further he buried into my mind. But despite the sea of paperwork, proposals, and other what-have-yous, there was still something about him that crossed my mind when I sat back a moment and thought about all the other things. It was a lot like a light when driving down a dark road. The light beamed, and it seemed like it was getting closer, but with a blink it was gone. I was busy again, and he was gone like that light.

After day was over, I walked out of the office with my arms heavy at my sides, my briefcase weighing my left down even more. There was only one thought in my mind at that point: home. It was later than usual, around 09:30 PM when I left the office. It wasn't until past ten that I got home. When I opened the door, the front rooms were soundless. There were footsteps above.

"Mokuba?" I called out. I closed the door, hung up my coat, and placed my briefcase beside the door. The footsteps thundered down the main staircase.

"Nii-sama!" Mokuba was already in his pajamas, and he had a toothbrush hanging out of the corner of his mouth. "I was just about to call you," he said, pulling the toothbrush out of his mouth. He hugged around my waist. I was careful as he still had the toothbrush dangling in his hand. "Glad your home."

I ruffled his hair. "Glad to be home," I replied. "Are you getting ready for bed?"

"Yeah. I'm almost done," he had already begun up the stairs before I could say anything else. I didn't follow him upstairs even though I intended to see him off to bed. First, I rounded into the living room where I could see that Mokuba had made a small set up like he usually did. The television was turned off, but his laptop (something I begrudgingly let him have after long enough, as long as I monitored it) was still on. I just about closed it when I saw something pop up on the screen. I sat down on the couch and pulled it closer to me.

"Nii-sama?"he had come back downstairs without me knowing hearing it.

"What is this?" I asked. He came and sat next to me, pulling it out of my hands.

"It's a gaming forum. Just one of those sites where people gather and talk about stuff like Duel Monsters or other things," he said. "I found it like…a few weeks ago. Some friends told me about, so I thought it would be cool."

I was scanning the page. He had minimized whatever had popped up. It didn't look dangerous; I had remembered the URL, intending to see what it was exactly later. The box popped up again.

"Joey…"he shook his head, typed something, and then minimized the little screen again.

"You better get off. Its bedtime and you have school," I told him. He looked up at me with his usual doe eyed look. He shut down the computer and put it back on the coffee table. He hugged me. "Night Moki," I said. He wrapped his arms around my neck, and I hugged him back.

"Love you, Nii-sama."

"I'll get you up tomorrow," I said. "Love you, too."

Mokuba was back upstairs in seconds, and I was sitting on the couch with my jaw flinching slightly. Joey. I wondered if he meant Wheeler. For the longest time Mokuba had been friends with him. I'd taken him to the Turtle Game Shop for days with Yugi and his friends; he'd always seemed closest to Wheeler and it was Wheeler who greeted him. Still, I never exchanged any more words with Wheeler than I needed to.

Later, I sat in my study finishing up a few things that I hadn't at the office. Out of curiosity I typed in the URL for the website, and when I got to the main page I realized Mokuba was right. It was less than dangerous; it was childish. I had to hold back a chuckle. I leaned back in my seat and scroll through the pages, debating with myself if it was Wheeler that I was thinking of. I shook my head. It couldn't have been, even if he was that childish and naïve.

I closed the page and went back to my work.

The next morning I had intended to wake Mokuba up. I was usually up at least an hour before him, sometimes two depending on how sleepless I was during the night. There was always something important on my mind whether it be with work or my own imagination creeping up on me sometimes. I had lied to Mokuba. Instead of me waking him up, he came into my bedroom and woke me up.

On the instance that I didn't wake on my own, there was an alarm clock set as a precaution. It was very rare that I used it, so I was surprised when Mokuba bounded on me the next morning.

"Nii-sama?" he asked. He had mouth was next to my ear, and he was practically straddling me. "Nii-sama, you need to wake up," he said. His hands rubbed against my shoulders, shaking them. I woke up. "You must be pretty tired, huh Nii-sama?"

"What're you talking about Moki?" I was still half asleep, but I rose in bed. Mokuba slid off the side of my bed and stared at me, astonished. "What time is it?"

"Like…6 something."

I was flabbergasted. I checked the clock; he was telling the truth. "Didn't my alarm go off?" I asked, climbing out of bed and straightening the sheets as best I could. Mokuba was likely grinning at me, knowing well that I wasn't often caught off guard like this.

"Yeah," he replied. "It went off for about a minute and then stopped."

The flabbegasted look was back again, but only for a moment. There was no reason to let Mokuba see fault in my thinking. I knew better than to let him think that there was anything wrong. I stopped my twitching around, knowing it only added to the situation, and I let a calming breath go through me. Only thirty seconds and I was composed. I turned back to Mokuba knowing that I may not have looked happy, but at least I was restrained.

"I guess I slept through it," I said, but the words were hard to cough up. If there was a light breeze shaking the window panes, I would wake. If I thought Mokuba was up and wandering, I would wake. The blaring of an alarm shouldn't have gone on for more than a nanosecond. "You're still in your pajamas I see."

"Yeah. I was about to take a shower," he said. He left me after that. For a few moments, even with my composure, I stood with my head hanging and my mind still going over all the possibilities. I may have been tired…but…

I brought my hand up to my ear, this time sticking my pinkie finger into it. No change.

There was no use in standing around. The day had already begun and I was up to my neck in paperwork that I had hoped on getting a head start on. I gathered my things and went towards my shower. The cold water washed away the semi-madness.

* * *

Days later, when everything seemed to settle back in sinus rhythm, when I woke at the correct hour and didn't come across a mutt in a coffee shop, I found myself still a little curious. Maybe it was because of the gamer that made up a part of my existence. Or maybe it was simply because I wanted to watch over Mokuba, like his guardian should. Either way I went back to the site that Mokuba had shown me days before. After a little deliberation (and looking through the site guessing that many of the dwellers were likely under the age of 15) I created an account under the penname _BlueS2510_.

The site wasn't small, but with a few quick keystrokes I was able to find Mokuba. He looked like an active member, and I read through some of his posts. It didn't surprise me that he was most active on topics of Duel Monsters. I smiled and minimized the screen when a knocking came on my door.

"It better be important," I called out, but that was a usual reply. My secretary opened my door and let one of the division managers through. I shut my laptop and folded my hands neatly in front of me. "Something the matter?" I asked, knowing that there must have been something wrong because of all the division managers, the one before me was most competent.

As he spoke, however, my thoughts were stuck on that website. I didn't know why I was drawn to it. It was more than monitoring Mokuba. A few quick glances and I could tell that the site was safe. Maybe it was because of the comment that Mokuba had made a few days before when he was minimizing the little box that kept popping up.

When the man finished he left a manila folder in front of me and left. I skimmed the report, and as I did my cell phone began to ring. The ringtone was obvious.

"Yes?"

"Hi Nii-sama."

"What's up, kiddo?" I asked, turning the page in the manila folder.

"I was wondering if I could go to Yugi's. You wouldn't have to take me there or anything, I know you're busy. Joey said he'd come and get me," and I wondered how safe Mokuba would be, and then I wondered when exactly Wheeler had gotten a mode of transportation. After being silent for several seconds, he pleaded: "_Please_ Nii-sama?"

A steady breath. "You'll call me when you get there won't you?"

"I'll put them on the line and everything, I swear," he said. It was a Friday night, and while I hated to admit it, I would be grateful if Mokuba was out of the house and I didn't have to worry about being home at any certain hour.

"Fine," I said, and just about hung up when I said: "Wait. That site that you were on the other day…"

"Yeah?" his voice trembled a moment.

"I don't care if you're on it. I was just wondering if you were talking to Wheeler while on," I said, just to soothe that curiosity.

"Uh, yeah…" he was laughing. "He's one of the friends that showed it to me."

"I see," I nodded to myself. I wondered how hard it would be to find Wheeler on there. I didn't know why that thought crossed my mind, but it did. "Well, call me when you get there all right? I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yeah. Thanks a lot Nii-sama," and he said the usual farewells and hung up. I returned to read what was in the file, but while I held it in one hand, my opposite was opening my laptop again. I popped the website screen back up and looked around Mokuba's user page to see if there was any sign of Wheeler. He was easier to find than Mokuba.

_RedEyes_BD. _Why didn't that surprised me? His posts were interesting, comical even. It showed what little knowledge he had of the game that he played. Forget setting up my own user page (that would come later with the most minimal information possible). I planned on playing around with the dog first. On one of his posts where he was trying to show off his prowess which, in truth, was relatively correct and no young child could rebut, but I did so. After, I returned to the file that was in my hand and I left the screen open, refreshing every few minutes or so to see what happened.

It took him only 12 minutes. Hook, line, and sinker.

* * *

But back to the bar for a moment. I had jitters, no questions asked. Maybe no one could notice, but that was probably because I was still in my car with my fingernails sinking into the steering wheel. I had parked across from the bar and was looking for a sign of him somewhere, wondering if he had gotten there before I had.

I turned my attention to my shirt where I pulled back the lapel of my jacket. From the dashboard I plucked up a small paper flower, blue, and tucked it into a little pocket on the breast of my shirt. I covered it back up with my jacket and got out of the car. No use in being afraid. I had set the terms; I was going to follow through.

* * *

A/N: The Pen names make the obvious, but at the same time I think Kaiba's is obscure enough that Joey wouldn't think its him immediately, even he antagonizes Joey at first. Obviously with Kaiba's the Blue is for the Blue Eyes White Dragon. The S is for Seto (because K seemed kinda obvious to me, maybe not) and 2510, well, Kaiba's birthday is October 25th. I don't think Joey's needs explained. Anyways, thanks for reading. Till next time, KenSan out.


	3. Chapter 2

A/N: Moving forward, as I feel I should. The beginning is slow because of taunting, but I hope its good...

* * *

Chapter 2.

The whole of the outside world is sometimes a strange, silent chasm. Not a metaphor. Sometimes I could sit around and not hear anything, as if I were lost in the creases of my brain. The people can pass me, and though I can tell what they're saying, it sometimes doesn't break the barrier.

I may have gotten out of my car, but I was still handing on the door and staring at the bar. People were walking by on the streets, the nightlife abundant. Some of them looked at me, some of them didn't. It was the people that drove me forward. I wasn't a hesitant man, and I wasn't about to let strangers think so.

I folded my jacket together and held it that way as I walked across the street. This was one of those moments where I expected something catastrophic to happen because it seemed so unreal. When I reached the opposite curb I stopped and thought about how all this went from insult to a mild tingling attraction.

* * *

The position that I was in was a sticky one. I didn't really think about it until I had attacked Wheeler. Now, as I sat back looking at his reply, I realized that if Mokuba was so close to him that Mokuba was likely to see such things as this. It was a careless mistake; my blood had boiled the moment that I had opportunity. Now, as I settled into the thoughts, I realized that there was something that I would have to do to make it look as innocent as it was. As if I was any other person who had gotten on.

With my work in front of me I forced the laptop away and delved myself into fruitful business. There was no reason for a Wheeler bark to bother me.

That night I was home at the wee hours. Mokuba had called me somewhere around six o' clock to tell me that he had made it safely, and he was about to put someone on the line to prove it. I urged him not to, not feeling like getting into a conversation with any of the dweebs. I could hear them in the background just fine.

I stood in the darkness of the manor rubbing my eyes. Even though it was late, I still wanted to set up deterrent on the site. I sat on the couch, a singular light gleaming in the room, and I got on, fixing up my user page to look like someone who, while mildly intelligent, was about the same age as anyone else on there. I then checked to see if Wheeler had added anything else to his comment. He hadn't, but others had. I couldn't focus on them.

I went to bed shortly thereafter, assured.

* * *

I waited. Mostly because I didn't want to seem like I was targeting him. I watched Mokuba mostly, but I acquainted myself with the site. I made comments here and there, but mostly ignored the other users. I didn't intend to get myself too involved.

Nothing exciting went on in the first few weeks. I drew everything out knowing that a good plan had many layers. I knew I thought about all this too seriously, but there was something about Wheeler that kept my mind wholly occupied, at least when I was thinking about it for a few milliseconds at a time.

After that month, that little incubation period that I felt it took for me to look like the average dweeb on the site, I found myself finding Wheeler once again, rebutting a comment that he made. It took him longer to respond, but it was the kind of response that I expected from him.

_You goin reverse everything i say or wat?_

"Is two times all it takes to tick you off?" I scoffed, quietly laughing to myself. I expected more resistance before he got annoyed, but then when someone had the attention span of, well, a dog, then I suppose it didn't take more than two small comments to set a flame under his ass.

Don't get me wrong, I wasn't doing this all the time, only when my mind slipped to it. Most of the time my mind was split in three thousand different directions and I was left to clean up everyone's messes and deal with them as they tried to press their heads into my shoulder and cry that their pencil pushing positions were too hard for them. I never allowed them that much. Not only was their dignity on the line; so was mine. All it took was one glance for them to close their mouths and pivot around and walk away from me. It was either that or I started cracking heads, and they knew that. Most people assumed it was out of pleasure. They thought it was pleasurable for me to yell at under competent workers—or fire them when the time called for it. Only on rare occasion did I get their prideful flutter in my chest for something like that.

So when I was dealing with complaints, proposals, spreadsheets, endless calls or texts, I was happy to have something to turn to in the meantime. Wheeler seemed to be the most appropriate target. Badgering him was like winning the sweepstakes. It made me simmer down amidst all the chaos. Control, I suppose you could say. That was why it brought a grin on my face when I replied back:

_If you keep making dumb comments I will_. After a minute I refreshed. He was on it.

_Im just as right as u are_, he replied. _U don't have to make a fuss_.

Other users were making comment off of our comments. I read them in earnest, laughing as people took sides. I wasn't as well received as Wheeler was, but I wasn't there to make friends.

_If you want to help someone, you might want to help yourself first. You play a game that you don't even seem to understand; I don't see how you could possibly tell other people how to play._

Mokuba walked into my study. "Nii-sama?"

I closed the laptop after submitting the comment. "Yeah?"

"You alright?" he asked. I had stood from my place and was walking around the desk.

"Yeah, why do you ask?" I knew why Mokuba was coming to get me. It was likely dinner time and I had promised him, after missing so many days of getting to eat with him, that I would go out to a restaurant of his choosing.

"I knocked and you didn't answer," he said. "You get zoned out or something?"

"I was working on something," I said.

"I knocked pretty loud Nii-sama," he said. I nodded.

"Like I said, I was working on something." Mokuba walked out in front of me, preventing me from going forward. I kept waiting for him to say something to me, but he just looked at me strangely. "Something on your mind kiddo?"

"Nothing, I was just looking at you," he said.

"Looking at me? Whatever for?"

"You look like you've got something on your mind," he replied. He was back at my side and we were walking towards the main entrance. He was already ready, his coat on. I looked out the window, winter flecks starting to blanket Domino. I grabbed my coat too.

"There's always something on my mind," I told him. "I've been working on a new prototype that should be pretty good." Usually this sufficed him.

"It's more than that."

"Oh? Well how do you know?" I asked playfully.

He smiled. "I just know nii-sama. That's what I'm here for, to know you," it was heartwarming, to say the least. Mokuba was about the only person in the world that had that affect on me. He was the only person that I found myself brightly smiling over.

"Yeah well, know me as you do," I began. He hopped into the passenger side of my car and I went around to the driver's side. "There's nothing spectacular."

"If you say so," he shrugged.

I pried the restaurant out of him and we went, being seated quickly. It was a nice café-like place that I'd taken Mokuba to before. I knew he wanted to come for the dessert.

Mokuba and I had gotten knee deep into conversation by the time we reached the café. I switched the topic to him and he was being especially awkward about everything. He was a junior high student, and he was starting to have all the natural reactions as of a junior high student. When I brought up girls and the prospect of him "possibly, maybe, kinda, and sorta" (his words) having a crush on a girl, he looked to me sincerely and said:

"When are you ever going to find your special someone?" we had already been seated at the café and I was on the lookout for a waiter to drag me out of this topic. It wasn't the first time that Mokuba had ever asked me, but I always found a diversion. This time I couldn't.

"Well now," I rolled my shoulders a little. I had to look him in the eye just so he didn't think I was nervous about this topic. "Sometime," I said. He frowned.

"Nii-sama!"

"What? You said when."

"I'm being serious," he crossed his arms. "I wish you'd find someone you could spend time with."

"I spend a lot of time with people already," and speaking of such, my phone was buzzing in my pocket. I let it go.

"Yeah, but I mean…you know…someone who you can be…"he was turning a few shades of off red, and I smirked at him. "Stop it!" he demanded.

Luckily, to save both of us from this embarrassment, I saw that there was a body standing beside us. Relief washed over me and we ordered.

I hadn't been with someone. I had been too busy building my life to think that I ever needed anyone other than Mokuba. Of course I'd heard the bad rumors in magazines or on the news. People wanted to speculate if I was with someone, or if at any moment I was seen with a female, client, employee, or otherwise, I had managed to find someone. I'd never given it any thought.

"…-sama?"

I drew back towards him. "What?"

"You didn't hear me?"

"Hear what?"

"I was just asking you something," he said. "You didn't hear a word I said?"

"No," I replied. "Like I said; I'm busy."

When I looked back at Mokuba, that same heartwarming look was no longer heartwarming. He was sad, and when he was sad I reacted just the same. "I swear I won't work myself to death. I'll find someone," where was a good question though.

"It had nothing to do with that," Mokuba said. "You can tell me if something's the matter."

"I'm fine," but I wasn't. I just didn't know it.

When we got back home I had something waiting for me. At the site, like most sites, there was a PM system, and Wheeler had decided to grace me with one.

* * *

_From: RedEyes_BD_

_Subject: You're a jerk._

_I'm just as right as you are, so stop being so annoying and be nice to the others that are on here cuz all youre being is a childish prick who needs to cool hit jets. I don't care if you're the damn creator of the game….its just a game. Leave me alone and ill leave you alone. _

_-REBD._

* * *

I shook my head at the irony of his statements. My fingers itched and I let them work.

* * *

_To: RedEyes_BD_

_Re: Subject: You're a jerk. _

_I'll leave you alone when you can fess up and say you're wrong. _

* * *

Cruel and unusual, yes, but fun all the same. I looked through some of Wheeler's old posts in the meantime, waiting for him to reply to the PM. It was about that time that my stomach began to feel as though there was something growing in it. I ignored it, continuing on with what I was doing. When he finally replied, he was just as aggravated as before.

* * *

_From: RedEyes _BD_

_Re: re: Subject: You're a jerk._

_If youre just gonna harras me the whole time im on, Ill have no problems going to the admins. All this isis friendly banter and youre being a jerk and ruining everyones fun. Its people like you that piss me off the most. You take things waaaay to seriously and don't know when to just sit back and relax. I bet youre just some stuck up little emo brat who thinks hes gotta be right all the time. _

_Get a life._

_-REBD._

* * *

I lowered my head and felt the corners of my mouth tug upward. I had gotten him where I wanted him; I had him cornered and now all he could do was bark on his chain but couldn't bite me. But it wasn't as rewarding as it could be. In the pit of my stomach the feeling grew, and my pleasure was torn by the disgust.

I composed a reply.

* * *

_To: RedEyes_BD_

_Re: re: re: Subject: You're a jerk._

_Don't be ignorant and act like you know what kind of person I am._

* * *

I shut my computer after that. I knew that the twisting and churning in my stomach wasn't going to go away, and I was gathering a headache on top of it. I figured that there was only so much of Wheeler that I could take in one sitting. Even though it was funny at first, I could only take so much of his "friendly banter" without feeling myself be consumed.

I went into the kitchen turned on the faucet, my hands sinking under the water. I splashed it up on my face and sighed. The headache was getting worse and the nausea wasn't subsiding. Footsteps padded into the kitchen. The light buzzed on. "Nii-sama?"

I turned off the water and leaned against the counter. "I'm going to bed," I told him, and walked with my hand holding tight to the counter. He walked alongside me, his hand on my wrist. "I don't think dinner settled with me," I added, hoping that he wouldn't get concerned with the suddenness.

Mokuba sat next to me for almost a half an hour after I had turned in. I don't know what he was waiting for, but I was grateful that he did. Even though he was sitting there and I could find something to draw my attention away from what I supposed caused all this, I couldn't keep myself from thinking about it. I didn't know why I had even written that as a reply. It seemed irrelevant in retrospect to what Wheeler had said to me. All the same, it felt necessary. But, how would he reply? Probably some kind of way that dodged it, and went around it, or he would just keep gnawing at me.

What if he just didn't reply? He would. He would do anything to be confrontational with me.

I think my biggest worry was if he actually addressed it and asked me who I was. That made my heart pound the hardest. Why? I don't think it was fear…I think part of it was fear, but I think, like the entire situation, I was seeing opportunity and knew that I had to seize it. Still, if he did ask, what would I tell him?

I fell asleep before I could answer myself.

* * *

My hand was clutched at my heart. It was beating too fast or too slow. There wasn't any sweat on my face, and I wasn't feeling myself grow cold. On the outside I was as flawless as usual. I took a good look at the bar which, in truth, seemed so out of the way and so small that I wondered how I had found it. I looked through the windows and saw peeks of the place through broken blinds and I got glimpses of the inside, dark and somewhat welcoming, as people entered and excited from the place. I crossed my arms and looked up to the deep night sky. The temperature was dropping just as I stood there, and the wind was blowing ceaselessly. When I looked through a small square window, that was when I saw him. He was wearing a jean jacket and talking to the bartender like they were friends for years.

Once I'd been through every obstacle in life; stared down the people that I most feared, felt the most incredible pain pass through my body, felt as everything had been ripped away from me in an instant, a chill seemed to grow over my heart. Time made me learn how to face these things, and worse, with a straight and unwaivering feeling of self-confidence, maybe even so much pride that I was smug. In my heart I knew I was right and that there was nothing else that I could go through that could possibly make me feel so weak and distraught.

But then love is different than fear. It was the same, but it was different. And Joey Wheeler, well, I could only wonder how he was going to react. I reached into my pocket and pulled out my phone as it buzzed. I didn't want it to be a manager, but I didn't want it to be Joey either. I wished it was just as phantom tingling, but it wasn't.

_Thoght u said u were an ontime person. Haha..._

I thought I was, too.

* * *

A/N: Let me just start by saying that this was a little difficult because I didn't want it to be boring.

Also, at the beginning and ending where Kaiba is doing the narrating as he descends upon the bar, tell me what you think about that, cause I'm not sure its alright.

Till next time, KenSan out.


	4. Chapter 3

A/N: This is long. Beware. Enjoy too tho...

* * *

Chapter 3.

Why a bar? I'm sure that you've been asking that. Follow my logic if you could. As far as I was aware, Joey had no idea that it was me that he was meeting. So, in turn, I wasn't going to give him any incentive to think that I might be who I was. Sure, maybe I was a little sneaky, but a good impression isn't always made by being flashy.

And that was all that I wanted to make: a good, solid impression before I walked into the lion's den.

* * *

The illness lasted several days. It wasn't so horrible that I couldn't draw myself out of bed, but all the same I didn't feel comfortable even as I went to work. Mokuba pressured me to stay home every day I got up and looked at myself, flushed, in the mirror. I never told him what was wrong, but he could tell when his nii-sama wasn't okay.

As I strode through the corporate building, I had a hard time composing myself and keeping my back straight because of how badly my stomach seemed to shake. I didn't know what it was that had me in tatters like this. I began to believe my own lie that I had eaten something that night and it hadn't agreed with me.

There was only one problem when I was sick: I had the patience of a child. I kept myself huddled in my office knowing that I was bound to do something that I would regret otherwise. I tried to redirect quandaries to other departments if it was at all possible, and I canceled meetings planned weeks in advance because I thought that I wouldn't be able to sit through one of them and even try to pretend that I cared.

One day I was unable to divert something that was "urgent" and that "only Kaiba-sama can take care of". I was forced from my little cave down to the Research and Development labs in the basement of the building. Right before hand I had worked myself up to going back on to the site to see if it would cause any adverse reaction like several nights ago. I hadn't the chance to check anything out, though I had glanced and seen that I had a PM waiting for me. Goodie.

One of the lead technicians accompanied me to the lab. "We're sorry to disturb you, Kaiba-sama," he said, punching in a key code for the lab. I folded my arms over my chest and glanced around. It was always one of my first priorities to see if everyone at least looked like they were doing something. Once beyond that little barrier, I walked toward the small group that was huddled around a machine. I knelt down beside it, opening one of the small compartments. They briefed me on what was wrong. I was up to my elbows in the machine, grease slicking up my forearms where I'd pulled up my sleeves. The technicians were looking over my shoulder like awed little children.

I leaned back a moment, staring at all of the innards of the machine and going over it in my head. One of the technicians, having noticed my puzzled glance, brought over the schematic. It didn't take long once I realized the problem and after that everything was working properly. I turned to look back at the technicians who seemed to gaze on with wide, disbelieving eyes. I never understood why people looked at you like you were crazy when you were able to solve their problems. All the same, because my stomach was still bothering, and because my headache hadn't fully ebbed away I said:

"You had to call _me_ down to fix _that_?" I looked around at them. "I would hope that I didn't have to do your damn jobs. I'm busy with my own job, so next time it better be _urgent_! " I realized how hateful my voice sounded. Some of them looked a little cowardly after what I said, but I didn't pay much mind. I just wanted to go back to the office.

Before I did that, however, I was forced to stop off by the sink in an adjoining room and wash off the grease on my hands. It was there that I simmered down from the little outburst and realized that what might have seemed simple to me was possibly very complex to them. It was always a sort of careless miscalculation on my part, but things like that always seemed to irk me.

I turned off the water and dried off my hands, and as I turned I found myself listening to the technicians as they babbled in the next room. It was assurance to me that there was nothing wrong with my ears and that everything was simple coincidence, but that aside, I took a few careful steps forward and leaned against the doorframe. They didn't seem to notice that I wasn't still occupied, and I began to smile as they spoke about me like I was the scourge of the Earth.

"…his own job, right. Busy, ha. Hardly," I rolled my eyes at their statements. It was the one nearest me that was speaking, and I was almost snickering when thinking what he must have thought that my job consisted of. The one the opposite side of him responded.

"Well, I can only imagine. I mean, he's in that office all day. I heard from some of the guys that he'd been canceling everything for the past few days. I don't get why he gets so pissed at us anyways. They're his damn designs aren't they? If we can't understand them, it's his fault."

Feeling that I was about to be spotted, I moved out of the threshold and laid against the wall, my ear turned toward the conversation.

"I know what you mean," the first one said. My lips pinched together to hold back the itching smile. "I talked to Eri; you know, the one tech chick that keeps all the computers in check?"

"Yeah, I think I know who you're talking about. Doesn't she make sure that employees aren't like…looking at porn and stuff?" the second replied. I was surprised that the rest of the technicians hadn't joined in, but I figured I had missed it when the water was running.

"That's her. Well, her and some other guys. Anyways, she has access to any computers on the mainframe, and when he's on his, she has just as much power," maybe that's when the smile stopped. "I mean, she told me she doesn't go snooping around 'cause she likes her job, but she said that she did it on a whim."

"What'd she find?"

"Most of it was normal business crap. But she says that she also saw this one site that looked kinda familiar. Said that she remembered it 'cause her son's on it all the time."

Imagine what was running through my mind. The smile had long disappeared and my fingernails were digging into my opposite arm where I had them crossed. I didn't know what I wanted to do first. I could go in there and reveal that I was listening, just to make them feel worse, but I was also considering just marching right up and finding Eri so I could do something about it. But I rationalized. What harm did she have with this information? I could say that I was looking on it for Mokuba's sake. For the most part, it wasn't a lie. And I knew how her job was. She could see the websites on my computer, but not anything else because I had set up a safety. The only reason that I let anything seen was so I let employees know that I followed the same standards that they did.

"What kind of site?"

"Some kiddish gaming thing. I mean, if that's what he's spending his time on..? Busy? Please…" and I just about revealed myself because rationalizing wasn't helping too much. That was when the second man seemed to do my job for me.

"Maybe he has some kind of stake in it," he explained. "Or…maybe he's one of the admins or a creator or something. If it's gaming…"

The first man silenced, and my temper seemed to trickle away. I left before I could make myself anymore aggravated, and I was in my office in a matter of minutes, sitting at my desk still contemplating if I should do anything about Eri, being that she had shared confidential information. I shook my head and forgot about it. Why was I getting in knots in the first place? I didn't think it was my reputation. It was like the second technician had said; I could easily play it off as one thing or the other.

I began massaging my temples, a small headache arising. I sat down behind my desk and stayed sitting for several minutes. My computer was open, and I knew that the PM was still waiting to be read. I called my secretary in.

She stared at me for a moment, and I figured I must have looked out of the ordinary because she seemed off beat. "Yes, Kaiba-sama?"

"I want you to call back those that I canceled from yesterday and today try and have them reschedule for tomorrow, or the nearest date closest. I also want you to have them call my office directly," I ordered her. She kept looking at me strangely. I didn't say anything else to her, which usually indicated for her to leave and begin her task. I stared back at her, wondering what it was that she was wondering about. Just as I said something she asked:

"Are you okay, Kaiba-sama?" her voice was very meek.

I furrowed my brows. I needed to get a mirror in my office just so I could see what I looked like. "I'm perfectly fine. Just go," I said, and she finally left. I searched around for something metallic that reflected my image so I could see if there was anything on my face. I settled for the reflection in my computer screen, now black from where it had been sitting. I noticed no change. I sighed and laid my arms flat on the desktop wondering what I should do next. It was one of those moments where I felt I had done everything that was capable, yet there was still something that was missing.

Of course, I knew what it was that was missing. Just by running my finger over the touchpad of my laptop told me that.

I pulled my office phone closer to me, waiting for it to ring. I opened Wheeler's PM.

* * *

_From: RedEyes_BD_

_Re: re: re: re: Subject: You're a jerk. _

_You want me to treat you like the person you are then act like teh personthat you want to be treated 's a pretty basic principal. Don't go callin people ignorant when youre the one thats being ignorant. _

_-REBD_

I brought my fingers to my lips and held it there as if I were holding some kind of gasp back. Part of me was waiting for my stomach to explode since that was what it seemed to want to do when I was in this debacle in the first place. Now, it seemed to settle. My headache was still present, but I had no doubt that was for the anticipation of the ringing phone or the still hanging agitation about knowing of Eri the snooping computer tech.

Wheeler was like the rest of Yugi and his little pests. I knew that I couldn't escape from the wrath of them or rather, the friendship and the gooeyness, if it could be called. Wheeler's annoyance and anger with me had completely flown out the window. As I read the lines two, three, twenty times, I couldn't ever hear a sour note. I wanted to find something that I could scoff at, something that I could bite back at him for. I wanted ammo.

Sure, there was plenty there probably. It's pretty obvious that he's been some oversensitive idiot whose willing to be kind to a complete stranger who has been dogging him from the get go (no pun intended). I kept reading it as I tried to compose a reply, but every time that I got to the end I wasn't satisfied. Plenty of them were demeaning, pestering, or even juvenile. But I erased them all. When I finished erasing one that was me basically being a copy cat (bottom of the barrel) a light on my phone began blinking, and the strange half buzzing, half ringing sound began. I picked it up.

"Seto Kaiba."

I listened to the prattle about how I didn't have the right to just drop plans and rearrange them at "my leisure" and I listened to them prattle about how important of people they were. It all sounded haughty and officious, but overall it was just them puffing up their chests and trying to act like adults when they sounded like they were fifth graders. I didn't stoop to apologizing to them or even telling them why their "careful scheduled plans" had been tossed aside at "my leisure". I just sat back in my chair, crossed my legs, and stared at the cursor on my computer screen.

After about the fifth caller I figured out what I wanted to reply. The fifth person, a shark businesswoman, spoke as I composed.

* * *

_To: RedEyes_BD_

_Re: re: re: re: re: Subject: You're a jerk. _

_I'm not allowed to be who I really am. In this world, being yourself just doesn't work. _

* * *

But I tried.

"Look, I understand," I said, cutting the businesswoman off in the middle of her rant. "I had something come that was a little more pressing." My hand settled on my stomach. I hadn't sent the reply yet. I was still debating about sending it because this time, unlike those few nights about when I had sent my reply on a whim, I knew that I had to be careful. I didn't want to get too deep into something. If I got too deep into something, I was afraid that I would be digging a hole that I couldn't get myself out of.

"That's not my concern," she barked back. "This was planned months in advance. There couldn't possibly be something more pressing or important than the business that we've been conducting."

This is what happens when you try to be who you are and let self control out the window: "Sometimes there are things more important than business." I immediately pressed my hand against my mouth and bit my tongue. Childish. Stupid. Reckless.

I didn't care what kind of power my name alone held. I knew there were people that feared me or the thought of what I could do to them. The reason that there was such an image was because of a tight regiment of self control, and I practiced it every minute of every hour of every day of my life, and I swallowed it like bitter medicine when I found the walls trying to collapse in on me when everything was in place.

"Well then you best go running back to whatever is so much more important," she said, "because this deal is about two inches away from not happening, and I know how badly you need my alliance for you project."

How else do you expect a hardcore businesswoman to react when she's told that business isn't as important as personal matters? The thing about business was that it was a consuming and dirty thing where people become so immersed that they totally forget the actual people that they are. They forget that there is something more important than stocks and profits. Their offices are their bedrooms; their computers are their food; their board members are their families. There's a mask of emotional depth when they speak on television. They try to pretend that their families are more important than the next dollar (or million) that they can earn.

I looked to the composed reply as we sat in our respective, thought-filled silences. I scrolled over to the send button. With little reluctance I pressed the send button. I convinced myself, in those moments, to reserve my moments of unrestraint (though a sort of restrained unrestraint) to be split between Wheeler and Mokuba. I hoped that Mokuba could share.

After much talking, after I had regained that businessman that I was supposed to be, I was able to convince the woman back onto my side. I didn't care what she said after that. In fact, I completely let her slide out of my mind, and the next time that I heard her was when she said good bye. I hung up and turned toward my computer.

* * *

_From: RedEyes_BD_

_Subject: New Chain_

_Whos stopping you from being who you are? Is someone forcibly chaing you or something?_Was he….worried? Was that worry that I smelt in him?

* * *

Something else popped up.

* * *

_You have a new friend request: _

_From: RedEyes_BD –You know, if there really is something that's wrong, you can tell me about it. Itd be easier in IM or something like that….your profile aint got much too gooff of so…yeah, accept if ya would. _

* * *

I did. I immediately saw where he lit up in a little chat bar that was at the bottom on my screen. I bit my lip and closed my eyes. I heard it pop, but I couldn't look at it. It wasn't because I didn't want to, but because I was forced to stand and walk to the edge of my desk where I hung onto the side and found myself lurched forward, spew coming from my lips. The back of my throat burned and I couldn't catch my breath for a moment. When I looked down at the carpet I saw the mess. My sleeve was at my mouth and I was looking around, surprised. I hadn't felt sick.

I reeled backward and hung halfway from the mess and my chair. My body had turned gelatinous, and my breath was growing heavier as a second bulge seemed to press against my diaphragm. Tears were on the brim of my eyes. I wiped them away and collapsed on the edge of my chair.

* * *

**RedEyes_BD: ****R u alright?**

* * *

Oh, the irony of it all. I pulled a handkerchief from my pants pocket and wiped my mouth off. I pressed an intercom and leaned with my forehead nearly touching my forearms. I raised my head back up before my secretary came through the door and stopped mid stride.

"Kaiba-sama—," she gasped.

"I need you to get a janitor in here," I said as calmly as I could. My secretary kept flashing her eyes between me and the mess on the floor, likely wondering if it was I who had caused the mess. I stood from my desk and stared at the IM message from Wheeler. Another popped up.

* * *

**RedEyes_BD:? U even there?**

**BlueS2510: No. But it doesn't matter.**

* * *

I shut my computer and slipped it into my briefcase. My secretary had already left, and I was about to be the same. I could keep my back straight, but my stomach was still nearly crippling me. I strode out of my office, passing the janitor as I did, and went to the elevator. In there I could stare at myself all I wanted. The silver doors showed a distorted picture of me, and the most distinct was the thin line that my lips made was turned into a queer little smile. A happy, childish grin. The rest was just a distorted, disheveled mess; something that I knew I wasn't. What was that look? I brought my hand up to myself, probing just to make sure that the picture in the elevator was distorted.

The doors dinged open and I stepped through them, my eyes shifting around to look at the employees in the lobby of the corporation. The image of myself in the elevator flashed in my mind, and I turned to look at it as the doors closed to go up again. When I turned back, I was looking at everybody else feeling as though they were looking at me like I was crazy. My hand went to straighten my lapel, and I continued to the parking garage.

Once in my car, I opened my briefcase and opened my computer. The page was back up shortly, and I was unsurprised to see Wheeler still there.

* * *

**RedEyes_BD: Y wouldn't it mater?**

_BlueS2510 has gone offline._

_Blues2510 has come online._

**BlueS2510: Because. I'm sick, that's all.**

**RedEyes_BD: Sick? Like pysicaly?**

**BlueS2510: Yes. Physically. Something has come over me lately. **

**RedEyes_BD: sorry 2 hear that. **

**RedEyes_BD: Hope u dont mind me askin, but…sthere anthing else wrong? Cuz its that or u got issues….**

**BlueS2510: I was correcting you so future players don't become corrupted with the wrong set of rules, if that's what you're addressing.**

**RedEyes_BD: Kinda. Look…most these kids dont realy care…im not teachin inside out crap….just…enuff 2 get em thru, u no?**

**BlueS2510: …**

**Blues2510: Never mind it. I'm wasting your time, and you're wasting mine. **

**RedEyes_BD: No ones wastin no ones time. look…i get that maybe ur alittle senstive or something….idk….but listen, we may have started on the rong foot, but we can start over. U can call me 'Red' if u'd like.**

* * *

I couldn't take it anymore. My stomach was pressing up against my heart, and I felt myself jerk a little. Why was I sitting there like a fool staring at the screen? My body was telling me that it needed help, and I was looking at that screen like some ignoramus just waiting for the conversation to continue. Ihad my hands over the keys, but I could feel my face heating up.

* * *

**BlueS2510: I can't really talk right now. I don't feel so well….**

**RedEyes_BD: Wats wrong?**

**BlueS2510: I'm about to puke. I've been like this for several days, and I don't know why.**

**RedEyes_BD: u go 2 the doc?**

**Blues2510: Something tells me it's not that kind of sickness.**

* * *

Once I sent that, I looked at it and wondered what I meant. I was wondering what I meant with a lot of the things that I sent to Wheeler. It was as if my body and my brain were on two separate playing fields. That was obvious now, but then it just seemed eerie, like I was being pushed forward by some odd force.

* * *

**RedEyes_BD: my sis told me once that sometimes love can cuase tat kindof stuf. Course…thats kinda goffy….u should go 2 the doc….**

**BlueS2510: Love? That's ridiculous.**

**RedEyes_BD: u'd b amazed at wat ur body tells ya sometimes….hey, g2g. U get better Blue**

**RedEyes_BD: O, hope ya dont mind, but I figure id call ya blue. Ttyl**

_RedEyes_BD has gone offline._

* * *

I shut my computer and tossed it into the passenger seat. For a moment I leaned over the steering wheel and moaned. My stomach seemed to be making a slow ascent into my esophagus. I put the car in drive any made my way through the city, hardly taking in all of the people as they passed by in blurs. I was sure I was doing far over the speed limit, but it was about the most comfortable thing I had.

Love?

Love! There was no way that was it. I had a virus of some sort. I rarely got sick, but I was still human (much to the contention of many). When I arrived up to the mansion gates, I was surprised to see that there was a car that in the driveway that I didn't recognize. It was a piece of crap car. Something that was probably like a hand me down, or plucked out of someone's yard because they needed the money.

I went through the gate with caution, and I parked next to the car, inspecting it thoroughly. Something told me that it was familiar, but I couldn't place it.

When I opened the front door, I was greeted by Mokuba's tumultuous laughter. I set my briefcase by the door and hung up my coat. My stomach was knocking on the doors of my lips, but I did my best to swallow it back down where it should be. I was nearly limping into the parlor.

I knew that Mokuba would have just gotten home from school, and I also knew that he wouldn't be expecting me.

All the same, I wasn't expecting to see the blonde headed mutt sitting on _my_ couch in _my _living room. "Mokuba! I gotta leave! Seriously!" I heard. I pressed my hand against the wall and stayed there for a moment, watching as Wheeler stood up from the couch. "I'm gonna be late for work. If I don't get there…I'm dead."

"I'll have someone take you there," Mokuba stood up with him.

"I got my car. Luckily it's not…far…away…"Wheeler had spotted me, and so had Mokuba.

"Nii-sama! You're home early," Mokuba came around the couch and hugged me. "I hope you don't mind, but I asked Joey over for a little bit."

I looked over at Wheeler and could already feel disdain breaking onto my face. I tried to swallow it, just like I tried to swallow my stomach. It was for Mokuba's sake. "Is something the matter Seto?" I heard Mokuba ask. It seemed muffled. I was still looking up at Wheeler trying to gather my words.

"Don't you have to be at some minimum wage job, mutt?" I asked. My words were muffled, even to me. He growled at me, but it was kept at a minimum. Mokuba stood between us, and he was like a dial keeping us both calm.

"Kaiba, ya don't look so good…"he said. I tried to say something, but I couldn't. My body was hit with dreariness and I nearly fell over. Mokuba was holding tight to my waist, and I was surprised that Wheeler also had a hold of me.

I prayed I didn't puke.

* * *

I couldn't hold it off any longer. I had to go into the bar, because I refused to be called a coward. So I walked through the threshold and was immediately hit with the smell of alcohol and a mild buzz hitting my ears. There were at least twenty people in the place, not counting Joey. Eyes were on me; I couldn't just stand there with a dumb look on my face. I took tentative steps forward so my shoes wouldn't click against the cement floor.

"Joey…"I mouthed, my cheeks growing hot. No embarrassment. My heart pounded. This is what I expected love to feel like. It was still as bad as the nausea.

* * *

A/N: this chapter ended up very long unintentionally...and I couldn't make myself cut anything out of it...it all felt important. So, tell me what you think. till next time, KenSan out.


	5. Chapter 4

A/N: I was actually stuck on this chapter for some reason or another...I don't know why, I think it worked out perfectly. So, I hope you enjoy because it took me forever to get everything in my head to make sense on the document.

* * *

Chapter 4.

I hadn't been to too many bars in my lifetime. I drank, sure. Mostly it was social; there had to be something to make the annoying egomaniacs become benign. Sometimes I would drink just because I was stressed. It was a bad mechanism, but I usually fell asleep pretty quickly. Bars were not one of the likely places that either of these situations occurred in. It was either at some pompous gala or at my own home. To be bluntly honest, I had probably been to a bar so few times that I could count the moments on one hand.

Enough about my habits. I sat down and crossed my ankles on the barstool. I was three seats away from Joey. I don't know why I did that, I just thought that it was appropriate. Well, I guess the reasons are simple to deduce anymore. I let myself glance at him. I'm not going to say that his face is angelic, or any of the other mushy gunk like that. It was him though. Angelic or not, there was something ultimately alluring, and my body was reacting as I expected it to.

I wore loose pants for a reason.

* * *

I didn't know what I expected to be there when I awoke from my sudden sickened state. I kept telling myself that it was the mutt's fault and I would get to yell at him when I awoke. However, when that moment came I didn't have the energy to want to get out of bed. There was a cloth covering my line of vision, and it had long since become lukewarm from where I assumed it was once cold.

Mokuba, in his normal dutiful fashion, sat beside me reading a comic book. He noticed my twitching the moment it started. The cloth was removed and placed once again. "How are you feeling, nii-sama?" Mokuba asked.

There was no disgusting taste in my mouth, so my prayer for no puke to arise was answered. When I tried to rise, a set of hands I was unfamiliar with pushed me back down.

"Whoa there Kaib'." My head spun immediately. I thought that the dog had to leave. Why was he still in my house? In my bedroom? Even as he pushed, I fought back. There was no chiding me to lay back down, not with a dog lingering in my room.

This fire I had was a great concoction of the many weird things that had been bubbling inside me. The fact that I, on some level or another, still loathed the mutt for being in existence at all. The normal thing went through my head. He was second rate duelist with annoying friends, and the best part was that I could add his lack of grammar skills to the mix. My body's reaction was telling me that there was something much different occurring on the personal level. I liked to think of it like chemicals rearranging themselves and my body not adjusting well to that change. I didn't like change. Not one little bit, and I was about to fight it in any way I possibly could.

"Nii-sama lay down. You're sick, you've got a fever and everything," Mokuba tried to compromise. "Come on, lay down."

"Yeah Kaib' listen to yer brother."

"I don't need your yapping, mutt!" I growled back at him. My fist was clenched in the blankets. "Who said you could come in here anyways?" Mokuba had managed to push me back, and I mostly complied by hanging onto two notions: he was Mokuba's friend, and as far as the Internet was concerned, so was I. At least, in some weird ass plane.

"'Cause your ass is heavy to carry back, least fer your brother it is. So I thought I'd be a Good Samaritan and help out. In return, yer brother was kind enough to call me off work."

I looked over to Mokuba and pleaded that it wasn't true. Mokuba didn't have to respond to me, only lightly smile. I rolled my eyes. It was too soon for any of this craziness to be happening. It was like one of those romantic comedies, and I wasn't about to be the butt of the joke.

"Geez you're a mess," Joey was shaking his head. "Maybe if ya didn't stress so much."

"What would you know?" I spit back. I wasn't even in the mood to be sarcastic, just as vile as I could muster. It was draining me quickly. "I deal with far worse than this _or you_ on a daily basis."

"Look, I got better things that I need ta be doin' anyways," he scoffed, and he turned away from and began toward the door.

When is it that you realize when you're wrong? When do you have that little click in your head that tells you that you need to correct yourself, or that there was something about what was going on that just wasn't right? I hated to be wrong, but all the same I was usually able to either cover up my foible or simply brush it off because it was minor. Now was one of those times that I could let it go, because really I wasn't wrong to anyone but myself. But the hardest person to ignore is you. The little voice in the back of your head grows, and you know that there is something you have to say.

With Wheeler, I couldn't part that much with my pride. I was staring at his backside, and much like my nausea from earlier, I was trying to hold everything back. I had realized, even if I didn't entirely like the idea, that I liked him.

I more than liked him.

Childish, yes, but…how else can you put it?

The worst part began when I sat and wondered if I had been denying this for a long time. Every vile word or action, all the sarcasm…was it just a mechanism? How long had I been attracted to him? How long had my heart been telling me something that my mind was dismissing?

I settled down when the door closed. My head rested in my knees.

"You okay, nii-sama?"

"I'm fine. I've just been feeling ill the last few days," I forced myself to sit up and look at Mokuba. He was unhappy at how I had turned Wheeler away. I sighed.

* * *

I let another month pass, and then another. I kept in touch with Wheeler just because I didn't want my annoyance of him on that one day to overshadow the persona that I had created on the Internet. I suppose that when I mentally admitted that there was something about my feelings that was causing how sick I was, the sickness slowly went away.

Our friendship was…lukewarm. I still couldn't stop myself from chiding him every so often, and at every message he sent me I was forced to hold myself back because I hated the atrocious grammar that he produced. I had to make myself laugh at it. It was what worked best.

It was despite all this that we managed something that seemed, in the least, pliable. It didn't hurt so much to bend in a way that I was unfamiliar with, in fact it was refreshing.

I was well aware about how set in my ways that I was. I liked things to be in a certain order, and often my days were dictated by this. It was somewhat of a pet peeve to Mokuba because this often left him little time for us to be together, but everything was push and pull. He understood that.

With Wheeler, things seemed to be a different matter. I didn't have to worry about pleasing him. I didn't think I did, at least. He seemed happy to comply with my boorish schedule and found that I was on at the most awkward of times. I had made myself scarce when I was on the job just so another incident didn't happen to spread around the company like wildfire because of one peeping tech.

My actions were often brief, if there were there at all. He was fine with it. He told me that his life was hectic too, and I could only wonder how.

How much credit do you give a person though? I never thought of the mutt as being self-sufficient or having to deal with great and stressful things like I did. But stress was a universal thing.

We bonded over this the most.

* * *

_BlueS2510 is online._

**RedEyes_BD**: **Hi.**

**BlueS2510: Hello.**

**RedEyes_BD: mind if i rant?**

**BlueS2510: About what?**

**RedEyes_BD: *shrug* Jus…do ya mind?**

**BlueS2510: Go ahead. I got some free time for once.**

**RedEyes_BD:…al right jus…dont thinkme wierd or anthing.**

**Blues2510: …**

**BlueS2510: I won't. Just rant.**

_RedEyes_BD is typing…_

* * *

I waited as he typed something out, apparently taking his sweet time with it. I kept looking at that as he went on, and I wondered what exactly he would need so badly to tell me of all people. There must have been many other people that he could talk on a site like this. Then again, they probably weren't as mature.

* * *

**RedEyes_BD: I no that this is gonna seem like alot, and im srry. Ive had a hell of a time at work ..an my famiyl is driving me nuts. I mean I love my family , dont get me wrong or nothin, but jus…my crazy Dad and my sister and…everyone. Its all just nuts…see, they got me runnin ragged at work cuz ive been the 'new guy' 4ever…an a course as things have been goin….i gota feelin its gonna stay that way for osme time….workin wierd shifts and…an stuff…worryin all the time bout payin rent and bills and other crap…..idk…srry...i dont mean to load all of this stuff on u…im bein unfair….**

**Blues2510: It's fine. Sounds like a lot. **

**RedEyes_BD: not like i really got much room ta talk…ur always on wierd too.**

**BlueS2510: I work management. It takes a lot of time to keep people straight. Your job doesn't quiet sound the same.**

**RedEyes_BD: its not…its dinky and stupid but itsa paycheck, u know?**

**Blues2510: I understand. **

**BlueS2510: To be honest, it sounds like your work is a little less complicated than your family. At least you know what you're doing at work.**

**RedEyes_BD: yea. They dont give u a roadmap for family….my sis…god i love er but…idk. Hard to explain.**

**Blues2510: I have a brother. I understand. Sometimes you just can't understand what they're thinking, right?**

**RedEyes_BD: Exactly! **

**BlueS2510: Heh, nice. **

**RedEyes_BD: it's wierd…u get all stressed sometimes…makes ya wonder if its worth it or not…then they sorta proveit to u…**

**BlueS2510: Oh?**

**RedEyes_BD: eh…ive awlays beleived stuff like that…not everythins supposed to be good, u know? Ya take waht ya can get and the rest, well…u run off that. Cuz i may not like my job so much…but then again, i love the check at the end of the week, dinky as it is. Yer jobs proly easier…**

**BlueS2510: There will never be total bliss or total depression. Makes sense. And it depends on what you're looking at when you're talking about how hard a job is. You're probably doing manual labor, blue-collar kind of work. It's hard physically, sure. Think about what I go through though. I have employees, meetings, heads of offices, problems out the assend…**

**RedEyes_BD: Idk…sounds better than this.**

**BlueS2510: I'll trade you any day.**

**RedEyes_BD: might hav ta take u up on that one of these days….hehee. o, can i ask u a qeustion?**

**BlueS2510: You're asking one already, but sure. Go ahead. **

**RedEyes_BD: Smartass…dont u use chatspeak at all?**

**BlueS2510: Does it bother you that I don't?**

**RedEyes_BD: not realy, id think itd be easier.**

**BlueS2510: I'm a very fast typist. I don't see the need to abbreviate myself if I can get it out in the same amount of time that you can.**

**BlueS2510: Maybe I'm both. Either way, I'm content with how I do things just like you're content in how you do yours. **

* * *

**BlueS2510: Is you're grammar really that bad, or is that how you actually—**

I was halfway through typing that, add whatever ending you wish, but I stopped myself. I don't know what it was exactly that stopped me. It was like a lock coming down on a door, my hands frozen overtop the keyboard. After the suspended animation, I pressed my finger to the backspace and kept hitting it until the message was deleted.

He responded to it.

* * *

**RedEyes_BD: something ya wanna say?**

**BlueS2510: No. It's why I erased it.**

**RedEyes_BD: ur prety decsive, i dont see ya delte much…**

**BlueS2510: Does it really matter? **

**RedEyes_BD: No…guess not. **

**RedEyes_BD: u know…i dont know if this matters much…but i think we hit something.**

**BlueS2510: What do you mean?**

**RedEyes_BD: it feels more personal…**

**BlueS2510: Yeah? Well, we are friends aren't we?**

* * *

Do you ever pause when you're writing something? That great debate that you have with yourself in those several seconds. You know you have all the time in the world to write something. You're allowed to compose your thoughts and be all together, but why waste the time and make them wonder what you're thinking about? If there was anything that I ever learned from online etiquette, more than not using all caps or not giving out personal information is that you need to be quick. Especially on an IM system, because otherwise you're thinking greatly, or you've disappeared. It creates the wrong impression. It's one of those unwritten rules.

I say this because of my momentary pause right before sending the message. It was the word 'friend'. It had been, up until now, an arbitrary thing. As far as the admins on the site were concerned we were 'friends', by my standards it was very different.

In my mind, I was much closer to him, even if it was only some kind of lonely, brooding thought and the image of him leaving out my door after I had berated him.

He was quick too.

* * *

**RedEyes_BD: Of course. Guess ur right…never thought of it tat way…its been wierd. **

**BlueS2510: Yeah well, stop thinking that it's weird. **

**RedEyes_BD: k, w/e u say bossman.**

* * *

I don't know why him saying that struck me as funny, but I couldn't help but grin at it. It was one of those tugging and pulling that took over your face. I clenched my teeth to make it subside.

Someone came through the door. I looked up, very aware that my office door was open. With my glance I prompted them to speak their peace. It was then, when I looked up, that I noticed the strangest thing. The lips of the employee were moving, but there wasn't any sound. I blinked a few times and lowered my head, my fingers immediately going to my ears. There was a little bit of ringing.

"-iba-sama?"

"What?"

"Is there something the matter?"

My nostrils flared a moment. "Yes there's something the matter. You came in without knocking," I said. He looked at me strangely.

"I…I knocked, sir," he said, and he nodded just to add effect. "I figured you were engro…" It went away again. I looked away and pretended to hear him. "...case, I am very sorry. I wanted to give these to you and I was going to be on my way."

He set a few files on my desk and I nodded. It looked like accounting, some reports that I requested be sent up. Once they were placed he turned and left, but not before stopping at my door and looking at me worried.

"Don't you have something better to do?" I reprimanded before he could ask any questions. He left.

I put the folders in my lap and looked to the chat. Should I tell him what just happened? What should it matter to him?

I remembered his sister slowly losing her sight. He would understand how something like this was. But, was I really losing my hearing? I'd been around a lot of loud things, it was faintly possible that I was also zoning out.

* * *

**BlueS2510: Something strange just happened.**

**RedEyes_BD: yea?**

**BlueS2510: It's hard to explain. It's like I'm only hearing half of what's around me…**

**RedEyes_BD: taht doesnt sound very healthy…**

**BlueS2510: Maybe I'm just overworking myself. I was sick a little while ago too.**

**RedEyes_BD: being puky and losin hearin r 2 diffrnt things.**

**BlueS2510: I didn't lose it, it's just going…in an out.**

**RedEyes_BD: makes me think of my sis.**

* * *

I didn't intend for him to tell me anything about his sister, but then again, it was resourceful that he brought up the topic. I could delve into his knowledge of something similar to this.

* * *

**RedEyes_BD: a little bit ago she almost lost her site...got lucky and got her an op so taht she culd b better…scared me.**

**BlueS2510: Was her vision loss gradual?**

**RedEyes_BD: somwat. it was real bad at the end.**

**BlueS2510:…I see. Well, I have to be going now. **

**RedEyes_BD: u ok?**

**BlueS2510: Always something to stressing me out. I'll be fine. **

**RedEyes_BD: Promise me somethin**

**BlueS2510: What?**

**RedEyes_BD: go 2 the doc, get it looked at…so ull know.**

**BlueS2510: I'm not making any promises. I'll think about it.**

**RedEyes_BD: …**

**RedEyes_BD: do it.**

**RedEyes_BD: for me.**

* * *

Once again my hands were suspended above the keyboard, but this time there was nothing coming to mind. He sounded like a worried spouse, or worse, Mokuba. I could imagine Mokuba telling me something like that, or even dragging me to a doctor's office to see if there was anything wrong.

I brought my hand up to my ear and prodded a moment, wondering if there was just built up wax. I couldn't be going deaf, that was ludicrous.

* * *

**RedEyes_BD: u better still b there.**

**BlueS2510: I'm thinking….**

**RedEyes_BD: dont think, just do. Makes decsions easir. So promise me. i wont stop bugging u until u do.**

**BlueS2510: Fine. I promise that I will go to the doctor. **

**RedEyes_BD: and ull tell me what they say?**

**BlueS2510: Yes. I promise. I'll talk to you later. **

_BlueS2510 is offline._

**RedEyes_BD: u better promise mister….**

_RedEyes_BD is offline. _

* * *

I smiled again and closed my laptop. Our excursions never seemed so monumental until I put them in some sort of perspective. I had told Wheeler something important like that before I told Mokuba. What was worse was that I had made a promise to him.

I guess maybe it wasn't worse though. There was no bad feeling in my stomach, in fact I was feeling quite pleased with myself whether it be because I was amicable, or because those feelings were so trapped inside of me anymore.

I pulled out my cell phone and looked at the screen. When was the last time that I had went to the doctor? I didn't even have a number I could think to call. I put it in my lap and looked toward my door as if it would give me the answer. I would have called Mokuba and asked him, but I was almost afraid to set anything up under his knowledge. I was his nii-sama; he didn't need to worry about me, but vice versa.

I called Roland instead and asked him to set me up an appointment. Roland was surprised, I could tell, but he didn't make it obvious.

Once it was all finished and I had an appointment for the end of the week, I sat in my office, stupefied, thinking about how Wheeler had managed to convince me to get a doctor's appointment.

I hated doctors. Then again, I thought I hated Wheeler, too. Weird what you find out about yourself when you're bent in a different direction.

* * *

There he was. He looked nice, comfortable. He was smiling, still talking to the bartender. He had something to drink, but I didn't know what it was. The bartender came over to me and asked me if I wanted something. I pinched my lips and looked over to Joey. He hadn't looked this way yet. I told the bartender Scotch, though I didn't intend to drink it.

When I looked back at Joey I could see the red flower pinned neatly to the collar of his jacket. I turned away.

After about twenty seconds, I knew there were eyes on me. Strong, honey colored eyes that were boring into the side of my head trying to eat through the skull. The bartender put the drink down, but I wasn't interested. I only fixed my jacket so that the flower wasn't obvious.

"Kaib', what the hell are you doin' here?" It was more than just an accusatory tone. It was more than annoyed as well, it was downright angry. I tried not to let it get to me.

"Having a drink, same as you," I said calmly. No need to provoke him. Maybe if he sat there and thought about it he would come to realize. But why would he? I'm not wearing what I promised, so it should be pretty obvious that I'm not who he's looking for.

"Yeah well, why dontcha go ta some ritzy joint instead of crashing all my fun?" he asked. I wondered if he was holding back a yell because it was causing him to growl.

"I don't see this place having your name on it," I said. I reached my hand into my pocket and clutched my cell phone, turning the volume down. He was already reaching for his, so I knew he was bound to send me a message. I felt it vibrate shortly after he sent it. I reached for my glass and put it to my lips, but only to wet them, not drink. He kept staring at me. "Are you expecting some kind of show? Or do you think you can blow up my head by staring at me?"

It was then that I pulled out my phone and looked at the message.

_Our nites bust! Kaiba just walked into the damn bar the prick._

You can become very bitter very quickly. It takes very little for your feelings to be spoiled. I let out a rough sigh and stared at the screen. I still had feelings for Joey that was for certain. I felt a little deflated in whatever way I could be.

I mean, how would you respond?

* * *

A/N: So, hope you enjoyed. Till next time, KenSan out!


	6. Chapter 5

A/N: So this story is going to have long chapters. I got a feeling that no one's really all that upset with that, but I'm just saying. There is also a link in here, I don't know if its highlighted or not, but it is an actual Wikipedia link to a disease, so if you're curious, just go to it.

* * *

Chapter 5.

I didn't want to leave at that moment, even as I felt the emotions boil up in my chest. I wanted to sit there just to make him suffer for being so impossibly ignorant about the situation. He was too dumb to even consider the possibility of me being the person he was looking for. There were reasons that he shouldn't consider it, sure. I wasn't showing the flower that was pressed against my breast, but all the same, he knew my online self to be punctual, he knew me to male, in the a managerial position. Couldn't he at least try to add it up?

I was losing my cool, and it was getting uncomfortable. My hand was squeezing so hard around the glass I was surprised that it didn't shatter. Beyond that, I was sweating because of weird mix of anticipation and anger.

I wanted to stand up and yell at him, telling him who I was just so I could see the look on his face. I wanted to be spiteful and watch him as he tried to gather all of his being together and hopefully, if he gave a damn about how much he had committed over the months, get down on his knees and grovel for forgiveness.

I wanted to do a lot of things, some things that only pertained to my own little desires that may or may not have been relevant in this situation.

Instead I just tucked the phone back in my pocket, no response to the text, and wedged my hand between my shirt and my jacket. I was going to do what I was best at: subtle.

* * *

There were so many appointments that I had had over the course of the years that if you asked me what kind of appointments I was expecting shortly, doctor's appointments would be near the bottom of the list, just above an appointment with some higher being should I pass on.

I tried to make myself obscure as I entered the doctor's office and signed in. There was hardly anyone there other than a woman who was juggling a parenting magazine and wads of tissues in her hands. I kept my head down and looked at played around with my cell phone, hoping that I could pass the time.

I jumped at the sound of my name being called. By that time, there were a few other patients, and all of them were looking at me strangely.

The doctor, too, was surprised that I was there. After the nurses had shown me to the exam room and went through their preliminary routines, I sat for only a few moments before the doctor came in with a large grin on his face.

"Do you do that with all your patients?" I asked. He blinked.

"Do what Kaiba-san?"

"Smile like a wolf," I said. He was fighting the urge to look in the steel cabinets to see what kind of expression he had. He ignored what I said.

"What exactly is your complaint Kaiba-san?"

I folded my hands in my lap and suddenly became very nervous. "I've been having some difficulty with my hearing," I said.

"What kind of difficulty?"

"I'll be speaking with someone or they'll be speaking with me and all of a sudden everything seems to go into a vacuum." I said. There was a mild amount of embarrassment on my part. Weaknesses weren't my specialty, per se, so it was hard to admit it to this man. His smile was fading as I told him this.

"How long had this persisted?"

I thought a moment. "A few months," I said when I remembered the dinner with Mokuba, and before that, the one moment in the coffee shop.

"And you're just addressing this now?" the doctor asked skeptically.

I sighed and clenched my teeth in thought. "Yes, because it just started getting worse now. It was only one or two instances before, I believed that I was lost in my thoughts before," I replied, trying to keep my annoyance at a minimum. I suddenly remembered why I didn't like doctors; them and all their little skepticisms that I couldn't quite tolerate. The last time that I had gone to the doctor was for a physical.

After a little bit I was put up for a short hearing test; it was one of those tests where you put the headphones on and raised your hand at the beeps. I remembered doing them when I was little, or for school. There was something that was a little different about this test. It felt like I didn't raise my hand enough.

When we were finished, the doctor corralled me back into the exam room and looked at me with a small smile. "Kaiba-san, what your experiencing may simply be just age."

"Age?" I shook my head. "No, that can't be. I'm only twenty two," I said, and I was almost disgusted at the idea. But then, why was I saying no to that being the issue. If it wasn't that, then there was something else that could be worse.

"Well, see, it's like things like gray hair or balding. It can happen at any time. Given certain factors, it can happen much earlier or much later. You're probably around helicopters, jet engines, something that's very loud. Machines possibly."

"Not that close," I said, though I knew that I had been close to a lot of planes and helicopters, and it was possible that my own machines could have caused issues. I thought back a moment. "Could…could electrocution cause it?" I asked, wary. It hadn't been anything major, nothing to take me to the hospital over, but enough to knock me off my feet for a few moments.

"Yes, it could," said the doctor. "You're mostly having issues with hearing higher sounds and frequencies. Usually people start losing that ability in their thirties. Coupled with some of the things you've went through it might just be starting earlier. The voices you're hearing, or not I suppose, may just be higher pitched voices so they may fade in and out."

I nodded. "So that's it? Nothing serious?"

The doctor nodded. "Nothing serious. It'll probably seem a little awkward at first…"there was still something that was nagging in the back of my mind though.

"Is there a possibility that it could be something else?"

I don't know why I was asking this. I should have been satisfied with the answer I got, but there were always other avenues to be explored. Maybe it was dumb curiosity. "Well, what do you mean, like a disease?"

"Yes."

The doctor leaned back in his seat.

* * *

I went home that afternoon with words jumbled in my head. I didn't feel like returning to the office after the appointment, I'd simply work on everything from home, it would be easier. When I got home, Mokuba was also arriving at the same time. He ran up beside me.

"You've coming home early a lot nii-sama."

"I just needed to get away from the office."

"You're not sick again are you?"

"No, Moki, I'm fine," I said, and this time I knew I wouldn't pass out or throw up.

"Nii-sama?"

"Hm?" I laid my briefcase by the door and hung up my coat. Mokuba was just staring at me with those big, childish eyes.

"You've been acting funny lately," he said.

I flinched. "Funny? What do you mean, funny?"

"Well, you got sick that one time, and then you're coming home early. Plus, you're like always online doing something and it doesn't look like work."

Goodness, what was he thinking that I was doing? "Mokuba, you think I'm trying to hide something from you?"

He was hesitant. "Well…yeah I guess."

"You guess?"

"I mean, I don't know nii-sama. I'm just saying," he shrugged and followed me into the kitchen. "You just seem a little different lately."

"Sorry if I'm changing too much on you," I said, though I really didn't know what he was talking about.

"It's not bad nii-sama…I kinda like it."

I arched a brow at this comment. "What do you mean?"

"I don't know. You seem kinda happier. Less stressed, you know?" he said. He got up on a stool and was leaning against an island in the kitchen. "Are you talking to a girl?"

"Mokuba…"

"I'm not going to laugh at you nii-sama," he said. I rolled my shoulders. It wasn't the most awful thing he could think of. "It'd be a good thing. You need someone to be with."

"Mokuba…if I was with someone, don't you think I would tell you?"

He shrugged. "I figured you were embarrassed or something…being you met her online and all."

Suddenly my cheeks were growing red. It was for these moments that I was taken away from the thoughts of going to the doctor's office. "Mokuba, even if I was embarrassed, I would still tell you. You're my brother; I wouldn't try and hide something like that from you."

"Okay, nii-sama," he said, seeming to be satisfied. "You better not."

"Oh, is that a threat?" I asked, but I laughed a little bit too. I went to the fridge and pulled out a bottle of water. I should have been hungry, I hadn't eaten all day, but my appetite was gone after coming home from the doctor. Not even Mokuba could keep my mind from it.

I went to my office and picked up my laptop before coming back into the kitchen. It didn't surprise that Mokuba was gone. It was too bad. I wanted him to stay around and at least keep talking, at least to ease some of the worry that was in me.

I turned on the computer and paced the length of the kitchen, just thinking. The doctor had told me something and I was almost afraid to ask what it was, even though I could tell it wasn't pleasant. No kind of disease was ever pleasant.

When I got online, I went to two places. The first was the website, and I prayed that Wheeler was on for my own sake. I was surprised that he wasn't; my heart sank. My fingers were itching at the keys, and I wanted to tell him that I had fulfilled his promise. I just wanted to tell him what the doctor had told me, because I didn't know who else I could tell. Roland maybe, but I was almost afraid that Mokuba would find out.

I switched from one page to the next—the Wikipedia homepage. I hated this website, as far as correctness was concerned, but it was a quick way to find out what I wanted. Without Wheeler there to tell it to though, to show him the explanation, I didn't want to even look at it.

I waited instead.

* * *

He wasn't on for several days, something I found both surprising and worrisome. Just like he was worried about me because of telling him about the hearing issue, I worried that he wasn't around because he was a constant presence. He was one of those people that were on in most of their spare time even though there was probably something better that he could be doing. I worried that he had gotten into something stupid.

After four days (each day I was sitting with the website up watching for him to come online) he finally came back on. It was one of those things where I actually debated talking to him because I didn't want to seem like a stalker. He did the job for me.

* * *

**RedEyes_BD: hey**

**BlueS2510: Hi. **

**RedEyes_BD: wat's up?**

**BlueS2510: I went to the doctor.**

**RedEyes_BD: o…u alright?**

**BlueS2510: I don't know. **

**RedEyes_BD: ur not like…goin def r u?**

**BlueS2510: Like I said. I don't know. He told me it might be because I've been around loud things, but I haven't been around so much, so I asked a dumb question.**

**RedEyes_BD: i find taht hard to beleive.**

**RedEyes_BD: Wat did u ask?**

**BlueS2510: …**

**RedEyes_BD: dude?**

**BlueS2510: I asked him if there was something else that might have caused it. And he said that it might have been possible…**

**RedEyes_BD: is there?**

**BlueS2510: He told me there might be one thing. [_wikipedia_**_**.org/wiki/Auditory_neuropathy**_**]**

* * *

I waited for him to look it up, and as he looked it up, so did I. it was the first time that I had looked at too. And as I read through the short bit, I was worried even more. I pressed my hands against my ears and wondered if I would go fully deaf. I looked around my office. My phone rang. I picked it up and listened as the person spoke, wondering how long I would be able to do that.

If it was the disease at all.

* * *

**RedEyes_BD: he siad u might hav this?**

**BlueS2510: Unfortunately. I hope not. It might just be me losing a little bit of hearing a little bit early…that's the part that bothers me. **

**RedEyes_BD: how old r u? i no ur profile says 15…but obvouly not.**

**BlueS2510: I'm 22. Still too young to be losing my hearing. **

**RedEyes_BD:…i hope its not this ting. **

**BlueS2510: Can I ask where you were?**

**RedEyes_BD: …**

**BlueS2510: Whatever it is cannot be worse than the prospect of going deaf, Red.**

**RedEyes_BD: i was mugged. **

**BlueS2510: You were mugged? Was it bad?**

**RedEyes_BD: i had 2 go 2 the dr. busted up a little bit….**

**BlueS2510: Anything broken? And what was stolen?**

**RedEyes_BD: ur worse than teh cops…**

**BlueS2510: Hey, don't dog me. You're the one that pushed to go to the doctor.**

**RedEyes_BD: i no, i no…..shut up….**

**RedEyes_BD: *sigh* i have a coupla briused ribs…and my wrists all prple. sad prat is i ddnt hav anthing for them 2 take.**

**BlueS2510: I'm sorry.**

**BlueS2510: I'm going to go offline for a little bit. I'm about to go into a meeting. You think you'll be on later?**

**RedEyes_BD: yea…sould b.**

_BlueS2510 is offline._

* * *

I shut my laptop and stood up as my door opened. It was both my secretary, to remind me of my meeting, and Roland, whom I had paged in duration of the conversation with Wheeler.

I picked up several manila folders and looked to my secretary. "Is there anything I can do for you Kaiba-sama?" she asked. I flipped open a few of the folders and scanned the documents.

"I want numbered copies of what is in each of the folders. Make enough for all of those that are attending. Also, I want to make sure that all of these get back to me. Lay them out in conference room C," I said, all the while skimming through the rest of the folders to make sure there was nothing else. Once assured, I nodded my head for her to go, and she was off like lightning. I then packed the rest of the folders in my briefcase, as well as my laptop, and I gave Roland my full attention as he cleared his throat.

"You needed me for something, sir?"

I walked out of my office. "I want to talk."

"About what?"

We entered the elevator and Roland pressed the button. The floor with the conference rooms was near the bottom of the building, so we had a short while before we got there. "You scheduled the doctor's appointment."

"It's not my business to pry."

I looked to Roland with an arched brow. "That hasn't stopped you in the past."

"Are you all right?" he asked.

I sighed. It was easy to goad him into asking, but when he did ask I felt a knot form in my stomach. Telling Wheeler was like talking to a wall. I really didn't have to worry about him telling anyone. But then, would he tell Mokuba? Did Mokuba know that Wheeler was talking to someone online? They were friends; certainly they shared little details like that, especially if they were both members of the same site.

"I don't know."

Roland hummed. "Was it just a normal checkup and they found something off, or were you going in for a specific purpose?"

"Never mind," I said. We were nearing the floor. If I could wipe away the mess, I was going to. The only trouble was that Roland was a lot like a parent, and he didn't back down easily when he knew that there was something that was up.

"You wouldn't have brought it up if it didn't matter," Roland said. I was almost tempted to hit the emergency stop because I wanted to listen to what he had to say, but that would have almost been too childish. "Kaiba-san?"

"I went because of my hearing," I finally said. We were two floors away. "I was missing conversations, so I went to see what the problem was."

"And is there?"

"Yes." I looked to him out of the corner of my eye as the door dinged open. There were a few people entering, bowing at the neck to me. I brushed by them, caught up in my own thoughts, and went toward the conference door. Roland was still following me. He could sense that I left the answer hanging, though I tried my hardest not to make it seem so. If there were any people in the world that could tell if there was something left one I finished speaking, it was Mokuba and Roland.

"What is it?"

"I'm just losing the upper range quicker," I said. "I'm getting old too fast."

Roland gave me this little awkward smile. "Maybe it's because you're so mature, sir."

I stopped at the conference room, the members already seated and looking at the papers laid out before them. My secretary was standing inside, the manila folders in her hands. I pressed my hand to the handle and raised my chin the slightest bit. "Maybe you're right," I said, cracking a smile to appease him. He nodded and laughed.

"We'll talk about it later?" he asked.

I didn't answer him. I turned around and put my game face on as I walked into the conference room.

As I sat down, listening to the chorus of hellos from the members present, I could peer up and see Roland standing outside. My secretary put the papers in front of me, and I quietly instructed her to stand outside the door with Roland, ready to collect the papers when the men left.

As I briefed them, I kept looking to Roland's back and thinking about how there were only two people, minus the doctor, who knew about my trouble, and one of them wasn't my brother. How exactly was I going to approach Mokuba about something like this? Mokuba always had the capacity to try and fix, to try and make me better, but he wouldn't be able to do anything about this.

When the meeting concluded, I watched as the men filed out, and I was left alone in the room. Both my secretary and Roland entered at this. I kept my back straight and my face stony. I pulled out my laptop and opened the screen again, making sure that Wheeler was still online. I then minimized it as Roland stood behind me and put a comforting hand on my shoulder.

"I'm going to go back to my desk, Kaiba-sama," my secretary said. I nodded and watched her off. When the thick door closed, I pressed my face in my hands.

"It's going to be alright, Seto," Roland said, and I was momentarily startled by his use of my first name. "You'll be fine. It happens to the best of us, and as long as it doesn't get worse very quickly, you'll be no different than a majority of the population."

He didn't know the whole truth though, and I wasn't really willing to tell him either. "Yes," I nodded. "I suppose I'm just being a child about this. Everything can't be perfect forever," I said, trying to make myself sound sure. Roland had been around me too long.

"Is there something else you're not telling me?"

"If there was something else, don't you think I would let you know?" I asked a little harshly.

"I'm sure you would," Roland pulled up a chair adjacent to me, and he watched me, hawk-like. "I have a feeling, if you don't mind my sharing."

"Go ahead."

"I have a feeling that you haven't told Mokuba yet. Do you plan on it?"

I shuddered. I always hated Roland's sixth sense about things like this. I knit my fingers beneath my chin and looked away from him. I always hated this conference room in particular—it was bland with nothing to look at or distract myself with. It's why I used it though, so that those I was speaking to wouldn't be distracted either. "Sometime," I said. "If it gets worse. It doesn't really matter if it doesn't."

Roland didn't give me a hint to what he was thinking. "Alright. I have some work I have to be doing, Kaiba-san," he said, returning to using my surname. "You will be as well?"

I nodded. "I'm going to stay in here for a little bit. Tell people not to disturb me, and have all call directed to my cell."

"Yes sir," he said, and he left me to my peace. I rubbed my temples until the little pounding headache went away. I returned to the page and saw that Wheeler had seen that I was on and was trying to communicate.

* * *

_BlueS2510 is online. _

**RedEyes_BD: wb**

**RedEyes_BD: so the meeting go ok?**

**RedEyes_BD:….geuss ur not ther…**

**BlueS2510: I'm here, I was just speaking with someone else momentarily. **

**RedEyes_BD: u should say 'busy' then….**

**BlueS2510: …**

**BlueS2510: I'll keep it in mind for the future. So, back to the fact that you were mugged…**

**RedEyes_BD:…*sigh* its not so wierd u no….not where i live…i was comin out of wrk when it happened tho…**

**BlueS2510: Anything I can do?**

**RedEyes_BD: …yah, u can…sheesh….ur talkin 2 me arnt u?**

**BlueS2510: I mean more than that. **

**BlueS2510: I don't know what I mean…we probably live halfway across the world from each other. **

**RedEyes_BD: yea…ddnt think of that.**

**RedEyes_BD: promise ur not a stalker?**

**BlueS2510: Do I seem like a stalker? **

**RedEyes_BD: …girls don't no there talkin to pedos….im jus bein catius.**

**BlueS2510: I promise to you that I'm not….though I figured you would have more faith in me than that by now. We've been talking what? Five months maybe?**

**RedEyes_BD: *shrug*…i live in japan, in a little place called domino.**

**BlueS2510: Wow...**

**RedEyes_BD: yea yea…its names funny.**

**BlueS2510: That's not what I was wowing. **

**RedEyes_BD: O.o what else coud u b?**

**BlueS2510: Take a random guess, Red.**

* * *

He was silent for a few moments, and I was praying for some kind of large type of fireworks when he finally connected point A to point B. It wasn't as though he couldn't. I crossed my arms and watched as it told me that he was typing.

* * *

**RedEyes_BD: u gotta b freakin kiddin me! U realy…theres no way that u live in domino…ur a frakin stalker….**

**BlueS2510: I AM NOT a stalker…it's just plain coincidence. Don't you believe in those?**

**RedEyes_BD: wow….**

**RedEyes_BD: thats…scary….**

**BlueS2510: What do you think I thought when you told me? At least I can keep my head about it.**

**RedEyes_BD: so…**

**RedEyes_BD: geuss u could do somthin huh?**

**BlueS2510: Hold your horses.**

**BlueS2510: You're going to make me into a stalker if something like that happens. We know little bits and pieces about each other, nothing to meet in real life or anything.**

**RedEyes_BD: but we coud 1 day…right?**

**BlueS2510: When we were both comfortable with it, I suppose yes.**

**BlueS2510: Hell, you know more about me than I know about you anyways.**

**RedEyes_BD: i no u work in managment. i no u hav a little borhher, and that ur kind a grammer nazi. Ur 22 and….got a hearin problem. And u live in domino.**

**BlueS2510: I know you work menial labor, have a sister, have no grammar abilities, that you got mugged…and you live in Domino. So let's even up this equation a little bit, shall we?**

**RedEyes_BD: yah…lets see…im about ur age. Year younger or so…**

**BlueS2510: Ah. So you lie like I do?**

**RedEyes_BD: easier t2 b freinds with ppl when they think ur them…**

**BlueS2510: True.**

**RedEyes_BD: y dont we kick this up a notch?...this ….relationship thing.**

**BlueS2510: How do you mean? **

**BlueS2510: I do have a girlfriend, in case you're curious. If you're gay…I'm sorry.**

**RedEyes_BD: NO! that was not wat i was talkin bout….**

**RedEyes_BD: im not gonna lie tho…i am bi….still not what i was talking about. i was thinking that mabe we could…idk….txt?**

**BlueS2510: You want my cell number?**

**RedEyes_BD: yah…if its k with u.**

**BlueS2510: Well…**

**RedEyes_BD: i swear i won't like…call u late…or call even…i wont txt late…i wont send pics…i wont do searches or anythin….ill leave this as anyomos as pssible. Cros my heart and hope 2 die.**

**BlueS2510:...Alright. But I'm PMing it to you. **

**RedEyes_BD: k….ill give u mine 2…so u send and I send, and i gotta go. **

**Blue S2510: Alright. Talk to you later. **

**RedEyes_BD: ttyl blue**

_RedEyes_BD is offline. _

_You have one (1) new Private Message (PM). _

_BlueS2510 is offline. _

_You have sent _RedEyes_BD_ a Private Message (PM)._

* * *

I checked the PM and then pulled out my cell phone, sighing. This was one of those moments where I was wondering if I would ever draw a line. Really though, was there a line to draw? I suppose I had already, unintentionally. I lied to him about having a girlfriend so I wouldn't have to worry about advances. Should I have really done that though? Did I expect this to go anywhere?

Before I could think any further, I looked down at the sound of my phone receiving a text.

_Makin sure it works. Txt bac if it does_

I leaned by head back and closed my eyes after typing in something and hitting send.

He was bi. Who would have thought?

* * *

When Joey wasn't looking, not that I expected him to be, I took an actual sip of the Scotch and then pulled the flower out and set it in the liquor like it were a vase. I took one last look at him and pulled out my wallet, setting down a few bills for the drink. After that I pivoted on my heel and began out of the establishment expecting to never lay eyes on him again—at least not with the intention of seeing him.

I pulled out my phone as it let out its sound that I had received a text. I had to see.

_U comin? I realy wanna c u_

I erased the message and began to cross the street, my thumb swiping over the buttons until his name was highlighted on my contact list. With one press of a button, his name was gone from that list, and everything shifted upwards. Back to reality I guess.

Expect reality was extremely quiet. Quiet, and there were blaring lights to the right of me.

* * *

A/N: If the link doesn't work...which is might not...look up 'Auditory Neuropathy' I used Wiki, but I have also used other credible sites, most infors the same.

KenSan out!


	7. Chapter 6

A/N: Onward, yes? This one took a lot because of dialogue mainly. I don't know why...just wanted it to sound right I guess...

Also, though Joey obviously uses a more chatspeak style, while they're texting I still underlined all of his texts so there was a difference between his and Kaiba's.

* * *

Chapter 6.

* * *

Sure, maybe it seems a cliché point to this story. What else could blaring lights mean when you're in the middle of the street? I'm not trying to make this story interesting; I think it's got enough interesting with it right now. I mean, really, how many people started a relationship over a website like that?

In any case, I stood there like a dumb animal. I didn't hear the car, though I was told that the horn blared. I didn't hear any of the people around me that were standing, awestruck, their phones out ready to text someone, or call the police, or take a picture because, really, this was a one and a million chance, not to mention it was me, not to be conceited or anything. But then, I did hear one little voice. It was faint, like the end of a tunnel. My hearing must have finally come back at the moment where it was least opportune. Where everything was about to climax.

"Get out of the street you dumbass!" The voice was unmistakable. "Kaiba!"

Before I could move an inch I felt a push against my shoulders. My phone fell from my hands and my feet sputtered forward at the nudge. I was still a little dazed so this all seemed as though it were just an illusion, if anything.

But of course, if Joey pushed me out of the way, that meant he was the one still standing in the street.

* * *

Once you have someone's number to text things definitely seemed to be a bit smoother. If there was one thing I was always seen with, it was my phone. It was easier to carry around than my laptop, and it made things look a lot less like I was communicating with someone and more like I was trying to work on something as I often did. I didn't make it obsessive. I wasn't like some teenage girl who had their phone glued to their hand. If he sent me a message, I didn't always respond, and if I sent him a message it was the same way. We had lives, and we respected those lives.

Speaking of lives…I lived with my little problem without there being another episode. Three months after Wheeler had asked me if would could text, three months after I had been to the doctor, I was convinced that the doctor was right. This was nothing but me aging a little quicker than I would like. I accepted it, and I lived with it without it interrupting my life. If there was a moment that it would flare up, I would simply wait for it to pass and ask someone to repeat themselves. People hardly questioned this. I had a lot of things on my mind, right?

The thing about giving Wheeler my cell was that he was no longer 'Wheeler' in my mind. I couldn't get myself to be hateful and call him that anymore, because he wasn't just 'Wheeler' he was 'Red' and he was 'Joey'. There was no hate behind it anymore.

I've heard stories of people who thought that they hated someone. One that comes to mind is something that happened to Mokuba when he began junior high. It was a new place for him, and he came home about a month or so in and he told me how much he hated this kid—I can't recall the name—because he was always pushing other people around. I never said much to Mokuba, only told him to tell me if he ever had any problems with this kid.

"Alright nii-sama," he said, and the conversation was over. I didn't think about it anymore than that. There was always going to be someone like that in a school. At one point it was Joey, I believe. The fact that Mokuba hated this kid purely based on actions that didn't affect him wasn't so surprising either. It wasn't until halfway into the school year that he said, during dinner:

"Hey, you remember that one kid I told you about?" He said the name, but I didn't quite recall it.

"I think."

"Well, you know how I said I hated him and stuff?"

"Yeah."

He ducked his head. "I started talking to him today. He told about how he was adopted and stuff, like us." I wondered how far that 'like us' extended to.

"So do you still hate him?" I asked, ignoring my inane little wonderings. It didn't really matter; Mokuba just wanted me to listen.

"No, I mean, not if I know that, you know?"

I nodded.

It was like that with Joey. He referred to a lot of things in his life and he was willing to explain them to me in great length. I was a little more closed in than him. My life wasn't an open book that people could read, and even if I did trust him with minute things, I didn't trust him with my deeper secrets. I guess I was afraid that he would find out it was me eventually.

This relationship, if it could so be called considering my want to keep it anything but, had a weird little twist of passion in it. I can't exactly explain what it was. We weren't doing anything that was out of the ordinary. There wasn't any kind of loving or endearing words to one another— at least, not endearing in the romantic sort of way. But the passion came from that strange humane connection. That way of feeling you understand something even though it wasn't right in front of your face. The fact that we, as far as Joey was concerned, had never met face to face or dealt with each other's lives on a tangible level, yet we were able to console each other, make each other laugh, cheer each other up after a hard day. It was that twist of passion that drove whatever we had.

It was also why I was afraid of sharing things that were deeply intimate.

Joey was someone that I was finding out about; a different light was shed on a character that I thought I already had figured out. It was at this point in time, somewhere about eight months into this strange 'relationship' that I decided that I didn't want that almost child-like trust to be broken. Every time he asked to meet me for real, I would decline for whatever reason I could muster. He couldn't understand my vehemence, but I kept telling him that it was still too soon, and then, of course, he would list all the things that he knew about me, and to appease him I would list all of the things I knew about him.

I didn't like being afraid of this situation, even if I had drawn my line in the sand. It was like holding back happiness or euphoria. It's not something that was meant to be stopped because it builds up in you like water to a clogged drain.

There was one specific reason why I was afraid of us meeting for real. You can probably imagine what scenario would occur. So, of course when it became happenstance because of Mokuba, things were strange. At least, they were strange for me. It's easy to hold yourself back in body; in mind, there is a completely different set of circumstances going on.

It was also somewhere around the eight month line. A lot of the time, anymore, Mokuba was getting to the Turtle Game Shop by getting a ride from Joey. Then he came and asked me one night (it was a Friday) if he could go over because they were having some kind of get together. I had brought my work home with me that night, and it was around seven when he approached me in my study.

Mokuba was quiet in the car, and when we came up to the shop, there was no one waiting for him but there were lights on inside. He leaned over and hugged me before pulling his bag out of the back and getting out of the car.

He went up to the door as it was being opened. There was a sudden pang inside of me. It was, of course, Joey who greeted him and ushered him into the house. But while Mokuba went in, Joey stood outside the door in a sentinel-like fashion, and I could only wonder what exactly it was that he was staring at.

Panic set in like ants to a grain of sugar. It seemed slow, until the rest of the ants have figured out the secret treasure. My body felt like that. At first there was a little hit in my stomach; nothing large or obscene, just enough for me to know that something was off. When Joey walked closer, it spread out and attacked. I could feel my heart begin to pound the slightest bit faster, and my nerves were sending out little shots, jolting in the tips of my fingers and making my toes curl the slightest bit.

What to do? He was approaching me like there was something that he wanted to say. Do I get out and confront him or keep comfortable in the car? With an inward sigh, I killed the engine and opened the car door. Joey stopped in his tracks as I got out. "Something you want?" he asked me.

"You were the one approaching the car, mutt." There was something about Joey that seemed different, though I couldn't exactly place what it was. He took a few steps closer to me, but seemed to hold himself back as if I were going to hurt him. "Well? I don't have all night." I crossed my arms tight. My posture was its usual rigid way, so I was sure that there was no hint of my heart pounding. Why was I so scared that he would even think it was me he was talking to online? It seemed so trivial, but I had given him so much to go on if he ever felt like decoding it.

"I was gonna ask if you were all right," he said hotly. Still, I could hear the sentimentality in his voice. "Because of last time I saw you, you were all…sick and…passin' out, but now I guess it don't matter." He was half turned away, his hand waving at me dismissively. My shoulders dropped the slightest bit.

"Why do you care?"

He stopped just short of the door and looked over his shoulder. "'Cause I'm a human being, rich-boy. I give a crap about people even if they don't deserve it." There was something else that was hanging, still wanting to be said. I didn't risk moving forward, but I pressed my footing a little further into the ground. "Heh, nothin' witty, eh? Hard to mock humility ain't it? 'Specially if you've never felt it, I bet."

There was something weird about his tone. He wasn't being cruel or obnoxious. He was quiet and reserved about it all, but that was probably because I could see Mokuba where he was peering out the window.

I dug my fingernails into my arm and clenched my teeth behind closed lips. I didn't want to be mad at him; really, it all felt like an act. I was really angry with him for such a callous comment. The thing was, I had heard so many of these before. It didn't really sting, but it carried weight with it.

I turned away from him and opened the car door. I wanted him to know that I was all right because it would throw him off guard. "By the way," he added, as I was half slid into my seat, "you might wanna go to the doc. You're all pale and stuff. Looks like you're ready to pass out again."

"I don't need your diagnosis, Wheeler." I said, and I slammed the door closed. Just as I did, I pulled out my cell phone and looked up. I typed something quickly.

* * *

_Love is complicated…_

* * *

I waited for his response. He was already in the Turtle Game Shop, but I had a feeling that he was going to respond to the text.

Shortly after I sent that message I zipped out of there. Mokuba was still hanging out near the window, probably watching me as I was taking off.

I don't make it a habit to text in the car. If I take phone calls, in the least it's on speakerphone because I'm trying to set a good example for Mokuba whenever he gets around to driving as well. But with Joey, well, considering what just happened, I couldn't refrain. Of course, I wondered if he would respond since he was in the company of others. It was Joey, was all I told myself. That's all that needed to be told.

Somewhere about when I was halfway home, I heard my pone give off a beep and I pulled it out in front of me when I was stopped. I took a moment to look around me. Though the city was always a crowded place, there was a scarcity of cars this night.

* * *

_Smthin up with ur gf?_

* * *

I cracked a grin. That was what he was thinking of, of course. It was a natural conclusion considering what I had told him.

What does a lie get you, really? Lying to Joey really had no great impact. Not on me. It was my line so that he didn't cross, but also so I didn't cross. If I could keep up the façade, there was no great worry. I just needed to convince him that it was true. The trouble was what was there that I could say that he would believe? Sometimes, the hardest part about lying was making it seem like you aren't lying. Trying to make a believable truth out of something you conjured out of thin air.

I believed that he would believe anything I told him, because there really wasn't a wrong and a right. Not in a pretend relationship.

* * *

_Yeah. I try to be sentimental and she calls me callous._

_Wow…harsh._

_She might be right. She says I dont have any humility about things. _

_Wat wer u guys doin?_

_Sitting on the couch doing nothing in particular…I leaned over and tried to be nice and she said that I never asked her how she felt._

_Do u?_

_Apparently not enough for her tastes._

_Wher is she now?_

_She left. Said that she had to go home and go to bed…that she had work tomorrow. _

_Left u cld huh_

_Pretty much. I could understand if I didn't talk to her, but we talk all the time. Just because I don't ask her that she's okay every two seconds like she does me…._

_I dont tink thts th pnt._

_What is then?_

_Mayb she ws feelin crppy or smthin, u dont no._

_Maybe she was, but usually she tells me when she's had a rough day or something like that. I dont see the point._

_U choke up…_

_What's that got to do with anything?_

_Its evrythin._

_I can ask her anything, anytime. We trust each other like that. But she asks me all the time if Im okay and it annoys the hell out of me, Im sure it would her too. _

_I care about her a lot, I tried to tell her that..._

* * *

I wondered how much this parallel mine and Joey's 'relationship'. I wanted to be that kind of sentimental with him. Say we were together, I wouldn't be stupid and neglect how he might be feeling. I know what love is. I can watch humanity and just as well understand it as if I were living it. People are great specimens to watch, and you see what foibles they make in their relationships and you can catalogue it.

But maybe Joey was right. The whole time I was standing there, erect and cold looking, in my mind I kept having things that I want to say come to me, and yet I knew better than to utter them. I gave a damn about this…

What was it exactly? A…con. I was conning Joey into believing he was talking to someone that gave a damn about him if he met me in real life. But with the reputation of real life, well, I know what would happen if I started to suddenly be nice to him, not to mention reveal the fact that it was me that he was opening up to all this time. He would probably call some asylum and try and have them take me away.

* * *

_Lve is cmplicted smetmes…u just seem afrd_

_I am not afraid. _

_So u say…_

_Because its true. Women are complicated. You probably have it easier if youre with a guy. _

_Blve me tats mre cmplicted. _

* * *

I was about to ask him how it was, but I didn't really feel like delving into it at all. It seemed like it would be a conversation that was going to go nowhere.

I had long since been home and, while in the middle of working, was keeping in touch with him. I wondered if I was bothering him since Mokuba was over, but if I was he would have either told me or would have just stopped texting me.

Instead of responding, I opted to get out of the conversation completely. At least that way I wouldn't be bothered while I worked.

* * *

_Hey I have to go. Shes calling me._

_K. Ttyl._

* * *

What did I want to happen to the whole fake situation?

That was something that plagued me even as I worked. It wasn't a prominent thought. It was more like something that would poke its head in and out everyone once and a while when I began thinking deeply on something.

My little lab was littered with my thoughts on projects that may or may not be used later. Of course, other thoughts managed to follow me in there from time to time. I had reserved the room for all the gadgetry and the intricacy that went with such. It was a place where the entire world ceased to exist and I could go on working ceaselessly—at least until Mokuba drew me out of such existing for something more concrete. I had spent upwards on50 hours in that room without batting an eye, barely getting tired.

In a way it was a lot like a bathroom is to most people—a sanctuary.

I hated that Joey was entering my thoughts in a place where the outside world seemed to be forbidden. Of course, I was the one that had let those thoughts in. Many times in the course of working I forced myself to stop and think about the relationship. The problem was, it ended up turning out more like an algorithm instead of being something that was more abstract like relationships were. That question kept popping up:

What did I want to happen with this whole fake situation?

I drew on the conclusion that it was—outwardly—a con and nothing else. Something to make me seem interesting and different from that being who I was. That much was obvious. Deeper than the surface, however, came the idea that maybe I wanted to pretend that we were already in a relationship that was like that, and making a hypothetical situation without stating so made it easier to see what the possible outcomes were if he were directly involved.

It was convoluted, that much was true. It made my head hurt just thinking about it. Algorithms were easier.

And people wonder why I like machines so much.

* * *

The encounter and the subsequent conversation led to something that I should have seen coming but didn't really think about all too seriously at first: Mokuba.

Mokuba had been a big factor in all of this because he was the one that I had to worry about the most when it came to this whole situation. Him and Joey being in the same room while I was texting Jou could have likely been catastrophic if Joey shared anything about who he was talking to. When Mokuba came home, I was braced for him to say something to me about it, no matter what it was. When he said nothing, I felt that I was in the clear.

It was at dinner when I caught me.

I had made it a habit of mine not to have my phone out when I was around Mokuba. Not just because of Joey, but generally for etiquette. If he ever saw me with my phone out around him, it was because it was business, or it was because it was urgent. Even as I felt it buzzing in my pocket, having a strange feeling that I knew that it was Joey; I wasn't tempted as we sat in a comfortable silence while eating. Mokuba could still hear it though, and said:

"You know, Joey was texting someone a lot for a while right after you dropped me off."

I held back any immediate emotions and simply looked to him. "Is that so?"

"Yeah, I tried looking over his shoulder and stuff and he was being goofy and fidgeting around a lot when I did."

I shrugged. "He cares about privacy," I said and, realizing that I wasn't supposed to be even mildly friendly, added: "Surprisingly…"

"Nii-sama…"

Again, I shrugged. "What's it matter that he was texting?"

"I don't know. Just doesn't seem like him. He's like you in a way," I know I made myself sneer at that comment, and Mokuba responded with a very stern look, continuing, "he doesn't like to be rude when he's around people. I thought maybe it was his sister, and I asked him, but he wouldn't answer me."

So many things that I wanted to say but was forced to hold back for the sake of anonymity.

"Maybe he's like you," he finally added after I said nothing.

"There's more that one way that J-Wheeler is like me?" I asked, scoffing.

Mokuba smirked instead of being indignant; I hoped that it wasn't my foible that caused that look. "Well, you were telling me about stuff you were doing online."

"No, you were asking me questions and making assumptions," I laughed a little bit so it wasn't too strained.

"You practically admitted it," Mokuba fired back. "But anyways, I'm thinking that maybe he's doing that too. Finding a girlfriend and not wanting anyone else to know because the others will rag on him and stuff."

"Well, I suppose there is someone for everybody," I said, meaning to be sarcastic but realizing, a little too late, that it hadn't come out completely the way I planned it to. Mokuba smiled.

"Like there's someone out there for you?"

I bit my teeth together and tried to think of a response that wasn't so callous. This was something that Mokuba had been pushing, and being crass about it was going to get me nowhere. Like asking me in the restaurant when I was going to be with someone, simply deflecting may have been comical at the time, but it was a little bit overwhelming in the long run.

"Mokuba," I said seriously. He set down his fork. "Given the time, I think I'll find somebody. There's just a lot of things that I do and it leaves little time for personal stuff, you know that," and I could see the semi-downcast look in his eye where he knew that I was talking about him. "Love isn't simple, and it isn't quick or cheap like some dime store romance novel. If I do happen to find someone, it would probably be slow and tedious and bore the hell out of you. But like I said before, if I am ever with someone, I will tell you. I can't leave something that enormous out of your life, because in the end your opinion will matter if I ever do get into a relationship."

Mokuba blushed the slightest bit. "Nii-sama…if you're happy with someone, it doesn't matter what I think."

"Yes it does," I said, and I hoped that the conversation was over. All of this was because of Joey texting. It's amazing where conversations lead.

"Then can I tell you something?" he asked, and he shied away a little bit.

"Of course."

"I think that maybe I…like this girl," he said, and I leaned in and smiled and let him talk about it. In the end, he was just as shy as I might have been about it. It was sweet.

* * *

I got up off my knees and whirled around just in time to see Joey as he was clipped by the car. Not hit. Clipped. It was still a lot for me though. Worry welled up in my chest and drowned my lungs to where they were unable to expand. I couldn't see Joey after he had bounced off the side of the car that was now stopped.

The driver was stunned and in his place, but I was walking forward, dusting off the knees of my pants and flicking the crumbs of road from my palms. I took slow steps towards the rear of the car, the back lights making out a few feet of pavement and making his shadow stretch out like the black smoke of a fire.

I resisted kneeling down to him, but I did want to caress him and make sure he was alright. He was rendered unconscious, and I could immediately see where blood was trickling out of a gaping wound in his left arm. Clutched in his hand were the two paper flowers. So he noticed.

There were others around dialing for help. I just stared and hoped that his eyes would open beneath the mess of blood that was dripping down his nose and chin and eventually staining his shirt. "Joey…"I muttered, and finally I collapsed to my knees, my hand on his right arm. I clenched my teeth as anger almost burst from me. "Wake up, Joey! Don't do this to me!"

I'm not sure if it was selfishness of what, but I just wanted to see his eyes to see if the gaze had changed from hatred to any form of passion.

* * *

A/N: You'll have to wait and see if he wakes up, nah? Also, the whole hearing thing will be coming back around, of course. This seems to be shifting towards the end, I would like the think. I don't know ho wmany more chapters, but I do think it's close. Anyways, Till next time, KenSan out!


	8. Chapter 7

A/N; This chapter is shorter, but its mostly dealing with a problem that had been happening gradually. There's also something kind of cute happening too, at least I think so.

* * *

Chapter 7.

Unlike the fun movie-verse, staring at someone does not wake them up. But, when you're in reality, it's hard to do anything but. I could hold my hands against Joey's arm all I wanted. That didn't mean he was going to wake up for me if his conscious wouldn't let him. For all I knew his brain was herniated and I was knelt down beside him like a fool.

After a few moments, I gained my bearings and eased my arms beneath him. I know they say you shouldn't pick someone up because they could have injuries you can't see, but it seemed almost like I should.

His head rested against my shoulder, his body completely limp in my arms, the weight heavier than I thought. The flowers were still clasped in his hand as it draped over his chest. I could hear sirens in the distance, and the dark of the night seemed to be overtaken by blares of red and white. It was hard to keep up with all of the lips as they moved, but I managed.

With reluctance, I handed Joey over. I didn't get in the ambulance with him. I instead plucked the flowers from his hand and went to my car, picking up my phone along the way. I waited for the scene to clear up, and I spoke to the police because they wanted to know every little detail when everything was laid out for them.

After, I stared driving.

* * *

It's best to be brief about things that are coarse, at least I think so. You don't keep explaining something when there are really only a few words that need to be said about it. That's usually how I dealt with meetings, and it was how I got out of them quickly.

I mentioned before about how it didn't seem like I was having any big troubles with my hearing. How everything seemed like it was just what the doctor had said and that my paranoia was misguided and pointless.

In a meeting, I sat at the head of the table listening to a man that had come from another company. I'm not going to bore you with the details about why he was there, because to tell you the truth I don't really remember. The most that I remember is that as I was sitting there, all of a sudden it seemed like everything went blank. Like I had plugged my fingers into my ears tightly so I couldn't hear anything but muffled sounds. I tried to play it off. It was just an episode, I figured. I didn't need to know every detail of what was being said.

All of sudden, it seemed like an atomic bomb had gone off. I was waiting for my ears to start bleeding because of the intensity of the sound, though the feeling never came as I expected it. I couldn't help but bring my hands to my ears like a five year old, determined to believe that it was something that had gone on outside of my head instead of inward.

I was getting a lot strange looks from the man,and as my hearing partially returned, I heard: "If you don't like it…"

I wanted to fall out of my chair and curl up on the floor. It hit again, that bombing sound. I brought my hands down and clenched my teeth, thinking maybe that I uttered something about a terrible migraine, though it seemed likely that it was something more. They probably thought that I had an aneurysm, and at first I considered it. I felt like my head was pulsating the slightest bit.

I took a deep breath and waited for it to stop. After about fifteen minutes it simmered down to a mellowed buzzing noise before going away, but it was hardly explainable. I'd come to notice that my hearing had suddenly dropped off, and that I could hear the muffled words but only caught half of them.

They tried to push me to the hospital, but I did my best to convince them that it was only a migraine. Then they told me that it could be more than a migraine, and still I was pushed towards the hospital.

Roland ended up driving me, not trusting me to be on the road if something else major might happen. When I was in the back of the car, I received a text from Joey. Leave it to him to partially save my shambled day.

* * *

_Yo wats up?_

_I think my head just exploded._

_That aint gd._

_No its not. I dont know what it is but Im not hearing so well._

_Jesus ya gn c a doc?_

_Yes but I think I already know the answer._

_Tat thng?_

_Yes._

* * *

I needed something to default away from the conversation. It was going to be numb, cyber hand holding and him trying to console me that everything was going to be okay. He didn't have the degree to assure me that, but it was especially sentimental that he tried.

To move away from it, however, I said:

* * *

_Red…I broke up with my girlfriend._

_Rly?_

_I guess that encounter just summed everything up. You were right._

_Nt a gd victry 4 me tho._

_Its okay. Itll be for the best I suppose._

_Mayb._

* * *

How can you break away from something that is welling up in your chest like fear and anxiety? It almost felt like my heart was being squeezed until it popped. How was I going to deal with it if this dip in my loss of hearing was permanent? How was I going to be able to run a corporation? Was I going to have to learn sign language to talk to other people? I brought my hand to my neck, my fingers somewhere near my voice box, and it seemed as though it were slowly disappearing even though it existed in the back of my throat.

* * *

_Im scared Red._

_Bc of the hring?_

_Yes. I don't know what to think of it…it scares me. It makes no sense._

_Lots of thngs dnt. _

_I dont know what there is to say in all of this. I guess I need to ask if you would be alright if I couldnt hear. _

_Y wld u tnk i wldnt b?_

_I dont know. _

_I tld u abt my sis. U shld no how i feel._

_I guess. _

_Hug_

* * *

I have to admit, that one caught me off guard. Even if it was just letters on a text, it was about the most endearing thing that had happened between us. I curled my lips and looked up as we neared the hospital where it loomed before us.

"We're almost there Kaiba-san."

I nodded, somewhat relieved that I could understand Roland. But then, there was no one else in the car. No other noises.

I tried to think back to the description of the disease, though it had been a while since I had seen it. I wanted to remember it, and I felt confident that I did, but that was mostly because I didn't want to actually have to look again. It would hit a little too hard.

* * *

_Thank you. _

_Its wat im hre 4._

_I know. I appreciate it greatly. _

_Im about to head into the doctors office. Ill tell you about it later, alright?_

_K. and no mter wat it is…its ok._

_Yeah._

* * *

It was probably easier to say "doctor's office" than it was to say "ER". I had a feeling that if I told him I was going to the emergency room that he would flip a lid and try to come find me. I was grateful that I was careful with my word choice. Or just lucky. In that span of time shortly after the incident, everything seemed a little bit fuzzy, though I knew that I was fully conscious. I think it was the fact that everything became overwhelming all of a sudden. Emotions…

Not saying I have anything against them, that would be psychotic, but I have a feeling that I'm not the only person in the world that thinks that we would be able to survive without them for a while.

I tried to tell Roland that I was fine, that it had almost away, but he refused to turn around. He opened the car door for me and urged me towards the entrance. I kept my hands in my jacket pockets as I spoke with the nurse at the reception desk. As I did, I clutched my phone as some kind of lifeline. It was strange, to stand there holding onto a phone as some kind of comfort. It was plastic and metal with a micro-circuit board, and yet it was comforting and consoling.

Roland had sat down, and I sat beside him. I had nothing with me but my phone and a slightly throbbing head. "You'll be okay."

I looked over to him. I was lucky he had a lower voice, because it was easier to hear. "I'm sure."

* * *

It took hours. It was an ER, of course it was going to take hours because I wasn't an exact emergency, though there were several times that I wanted to play the celebrity card. About the only reason I didn't was because of that fear in me. I didn't want to know what this was, or rather, I didn't want to know that I was right about what it was.

They gave me an awkward diagnosis: a migraine. I say awkward because I had, unconsciously, diagnosed myself. I looked to the doctor, puzzled as to how it could be a migraine with the sound and he simply shook it off as saying it was likely sensitivity intensifying it. But of course, I asked a stupid question: "Then why can't I hear right?"

The doctor stared at me dumbly, and I reluctantly explained to him about what had been occurring over the past few months. He then became curious and looked in ears expecting to see something. He told me that they weren't typically related. I told him what the other doctor had told me about the auditory neuropathy. He nodded curtly. He was puzzled no more.

I was given a general fix to the problem of the migraine: less stress. He didn't even have to ask me about my day, he more or less knew by the face that I was who I was. After that, he seemed to become busy and I was fine to be going home. He finished by referring me to an audiologist for my hearing.

* * *

Now was the time to explain things to Mokuba. I came home late because of the doctor, and he was sitting on the couch watching television. I sat down beside him and put my arm over his shoulders not saying a word immediately. He flicked the television off.

"Something you want to talk about, nii-sama?" he asked.

"Yes."

He positioned himself to look at me. "I went to the doctor today."

"You don't look sick," he said, his brows furrowed. He was smarter than that though. "What's the matter?"

His voice was just like the rest—muffled, as if I had shoved cotton balls in my ears. Of all the things that saddened me the most, I looked at his face and almost wanted to cry. We had been through tough times together, and sometimes the only thing that had pulled me through was the fact that I had been able to hear his voice on a hard day. Sure, you could say I still heard it, but it wasn't the same. "Nii-sama?"

He saw my immediate sickened expression, my melancholy. There was a difference between the typical stoic looks of thought one could often perceive as anger or sadness and the melancholy that could make a face drop as if the skin were pulling away from the muscles. It was that attempt at trying to manage an unafraid look when it wasn't possible. That cringing look of pulling the muscles in the direction they didn't want to go. I didn't have to see it to know what it looked like. It strained my face just enough as I tried to hold it all back.

"I've…I've been losing my hearing," I said, choking up the words so low that Mokuba leaned in. He didn't ask me to repeat. "That morning with the alarm clock and at dinner when I didn't hear your question. I went for a checkup before to see, and now…well, it's getting worse."

There are things that are devastating to hear. I can imagine if I told him that I had some incurable disease (which, on sake of technicality this was, but I don't really feel like going there) or cancer, or something of that nature, his level of sudden shock and subsequent sadness might seem appropriate. If I were thinking of this moment even a year ago, I would scoff at his look. It's not something to get choked up about, I would think then. But not now.

Mokuba didn't sob. That would have been overkill. He asked for me to say it again. "I'm losing my hearing, and it's bad. I can't hear certain voice types and I go in and out of being able to hear at all." I became objective about it the more it sank in. It hurt less when it didn't seem so close.

"Why is it happening?" I explained it like the Wikipedia article had. I hated being robotic about it, but I don't think anyone could have blamed me for it. It was strange how the gravity of the situation hit the hardest when I told Mokuba. I had told Joey and I had told Roland, but with Mokuba it was a mixture of not only just telling him what was wrong, but also the fact that I was guilty for not telling him sooner. I apologized for that, but it probably didn't sound like much of an apology. He hugged me tightly—warmly. He didn't let me go for a few minutes.

Afterwards I could feel the tension in the household. I wondered how many conversations would be about the disease. Alongside that, I wondered how long I would be able to hear these, just as I had earlier. That was when I urged Mokuba to speak about anything. He blinked.

"What do you mean nii-sama?"

"Just talk so I can watch."

"You want to watch me talk?"

"I want to watch your lips move," I explained. It clicked and he nodded. He started to tell me about his day, and I watched his mouth. "Don't slow down, that doesn't help me in the real world."

The best way to soften the blow was with preparedness. Even if I didn't need this skill (which, logically, I figured I would) I could have it if I didn't hear one part of conversation and saw it instead. Too bad I couldn't do it with Joey; at least, not directly. Maybe if I took Mokuba to Yugi's again.

Later that night, when I walled myself up in my study, Joey texted me again.

* * *

_U still at the doc?_

_No. I finished a few hours ago._

_Wats wrng?_

_Its complicated._

_Well i didnt thnk it wld b smpl_

_Its what I thought it was._

* * *

He was silent after that. I waited patiently, busying myself with reading or looking over files. I guess it impacted him about the way that it impacted Mokuba. It dealt a hard blow, but it wasn't as devastating for him.

* * *

_You still there?_

_Yea thnkin is al_

_Theres not much to think about._

_I no._

_You should've seen when I told my brother_

_He freak?_

_Yeah. He went quiet and just looked at me for a bit._

_Is he ok_

_Hes fine._

_Thts gd. Im srry im nt sayin much. Its hrd 2 thnk of smthn 2 say_

_You dont have to say anything. Im pleased just talking to you. Its comforting in itself._

_Gess it's a gd thng u brke up w/ ur grl huh?_

_Why?_

_The wy ur tlkin 2 me. Nt 2 kll the mood but…mayb now is a gd tme 2 meet irl? U seem 2 need it._

* * *

I wanted to be angry at him for being selfish about all of this. He was trying to exploit a touchy moment to try and get to see me. If we weren't as close as we were now, I would have begun berating him in some kind of hysteria. But I knew what he was trying to do. I knew that it wasn't a fully selfish notion, that it wasn't some exploit. I knew him. I knew him better than I ever had, and for once his selfish notions seemed to carry a hint of unselfishness to them that you could see if you only knew him so well. Still…

* * *

_No. Now is worse than ever. _

_O…srry._

_I know where youre coming from. Its alright, no need to apologize._

_Well thn i hve smthn else 2 say_

_Whats that?_

_I love you._

* * *

I gave him no immediate response; I just stared at the screen with some kind of half endearment and half disdain. My heart immediately began racing, and that little knot in my stomach came back to me. I knew the bathroom was just down the hall, but I hardly needed to think about that. I was more comfortable with this feeling than I was the ill feeling before.

* * *

_That was..._

_Srry. Had 2 say it_

_I see._

_I no u may nt have the sme feelings. its ok. i ws jst syin it 2 get it out thre._

_I see. Well, I just…hope youre not with anyone._

_Nt right now_

_Not to seem like its so shocking, but Im going to go to bed. My days just been all over the place._

_K. Night_

_Night._

* * *

I put my phone away and leaned back in my seat, staring upwards at the ceiling with all these emotions clashing together in my chest and me left unable to comprehend it. I knew that Joey and I had some kind of endearment, some kind of relationship, but it hurt hearing him say that. Not because I didn't appreciate it, but because I knew the gravity of the situation and he didn't. Just days before we were growling at each other.

I groaned out loud.

* * *

No, I didn't go to the hospital with Joey. Not that I was trying to fight the cliché, but I knew that he would most likely be holed up in the ER until a room was available (or OR, whichever he needed first) and then there was a likely chance of him being unconscious for an unknown period of time. Instead, I went home.

Mokuba had been waiting for me. "Where've you been?"

I looked over to him. "Out." It wasn't like I could hide it. I knew there was blood staining my jacket. Mokuba noticed it immediately.

"Where did you go to get blood on you?"

"A bar."

Why couldn't I tell him straightforward? Because you try telling your little brother that you were going to a bar to see your enemy because you've been talking to them for over a year without them knowing.

"A bar? Nii-sama..?"

"I was meeting someone I met online." Do I slowly pull it out or make it like a Band-Aid? Logic would suggest the latter, but I was still in shock from the initial experience.

"Did you get in a fight?"

"With a car," I muttered. His eyes widened.

"You got hit by a car?"

"No, Joey did."

I didn't even call him Wheeler, or mutt, or any other derogatory term that Mokuba was used to hearing. Just Joey. Mokuba kept his eyes on me with that same little doe eyed look. I wasn't what sure what surprised him the most in those few exchanges.

* * *

A/N: So yeah. It's all pretty interesting I think. Hope you enjoyed it.

Till next time, KenSan out!


	9. Chapter 8

A/N: Little to say here, other than this story is obviously winding down. So, I hope you enjoy it. I really enjoy the reviews you all leave. they are amazing.

* * *

Chapter 8.

I explained little to Mokuba, because there was little to be explained. I had essentially told him everything in bits and pieces; the only thing that he didn't know was that it was Joey. Overall, he seemed to be quiet and went searching for it on news websites. I disappeared into my bedroom and removed my jacket, staring at the blood for more time than I should have.

I wanted to go see him, but I wasn't really sure why. It almost seemed like I was rubbing it in his face that it was me. The last person on earth that he wanted it to be; the last person that he ever expected. But it wasn't just that. It was that worry that was welling up. I had to know if he was alright. I had to know what happened to him in his sacrifice. So I sat down at my desk, looking at the papers that he had sent to me, and I began composing a letter of my own.

Once I was finished, I set it on my nightstand to remind myself to take it whenever I went. If I went. If I could make myself go.

* * *

I reserved myself to loneliness for some time. I kept quiet and simply watched in some sort of depression. I was uncomfortable and worried about the possibility of it all being an exploitable weakness. I found myself trying to regain some kind of vigor in the late night hours when no one could watch me pace around. A lot of this was debate.

For that time, in the days following Joey's endearing admissions, I was even silent with him. He knew the most of the truth; he was the one that I told the details to before anyone else, and yet I felt uncomfortable even coming to him with my musings, like I would suddenly be rejected even though he had reassured me wholeheartedly that he wouldn't.

There were 'cures'. I don't know to what limit I would consider them cures. They were more like miniscule fixes to the problem that didn't work for every patient. Hearing aids, obviously; cochlear implant as a secondary, more risky try. Maybe I was selfish in thinking cosmetically. Neither of them, in my mind, was appealing. I could only imagine sitting in a room of executives and them being able to see something like that.

Of course, most of the executives I know were decades older than I was, so it wasn't so far of a stretch to believe that I wouldn't be the only one in that kind of situation. Still, it was a matter of pride, which was a bad thing to have in the way. But, as most people knew, that pride was important for me. It was sometimes the only thing that kept me going.

* * *

The days of silence went on (silence in whichever way you want to take it) until it seemed to circle back around. It had been ten months now, and I had come to a milestone that didn't seem as significant as it did when I was little. I was in the kitchen, a wine glass half full before me. My hands and fingers felt twisted as I practiced, reciting "Happy Birthday" orally while my hands seemed to play chorus, copying all of the words.

Mokuba sat across from me, also copying the motions, an instructional book in front of him to help him along. He stopped midway and picked up the book, inspecting the motions and pausing so he could try and get his fingers to mimic the image. We were pretty far in learning (I further along than he) but it didn't feel right despite that.

All this time, things seemed to settle in some way, even if there was nothing comfortable about settling. I knew that there were just things that I wouldn't hear. I began to cope with that fact, but it always hit me worst at home when Mokuba would speak and I tried to imagine his voice to the fullest as before. Sometimes when I closed my eyes it was easier.

As he looked at the book, I took a sip of the wine, savoring it for a moment before looking up to Mokuba. He was staring at me with a small concerned look on his face.

"That's your second."

"I know. It's my birthday; I'm not going to go crazy with it." I had realized that my sentences were simplified, at least at first, because my hands were following along with the words. I kept following this exercise, comfortable with falling back into my mind as I worked through it, the words no longer falling from lips and my hands working to twist as if I were doing something like writing or a tying a tie.

I satisfied myself and grabbed the wine glass, raising my head to see that Mokuba had disappeared. I furrowed my brows and looked around the semi-darkened kitchen. I went to the window where headlights had been blaring through, and I realized that someone was outside. Someone had knocked on the door and I hadn't noticed.

In the foyer, Mokuba was speaking with Joey briefly, his hands clenched at his sides so he didn't imitate the words like I would. Neither noticed me as I took brief and quiet steps, so little so that not even the wine in my glass would shake. I was reading Joey's lips and finding trouble with his accent. He laughed at something and rubbed the back of his neck.

My feelings were bursting against my heart and up my esophagus like acid reflux, a strange feeling that I couldn't conquer or swallow and that burned in a fiery mix of regret and compassion as I remembered the text that he had sent, some of the last that I had received since I stopped correspondence. My lower lip wobbled like a child, and I lowered my head to try and stifle the outward physical motions. When I stopped my lip, it was my hand that shook. I felt some of the lukewarm wine as it splashed against my wrist.

"What are you doing here at this ungodly hour?" I asked, my other hand jammed into my pocket. Joey was now looking at me, his sharp eyes tracing over every darkened line on my character, the depression draping my fashion sense much heavier in the last few days.

"I was givin' Mokuba somethin' he forgot. Hope that's alright with ya." He didn't sneer so much, but there was something about the anger that was mildly arousing at this point in the relationship. Still, it was that urge to make sure that the real world and the virtual world were separate that caused me to let not only the passion, but also the reciprocated sneer of possible anger, boil up in me. I eyed him, noticing the large paper bag in his hand.

"Why so late? Most people are in bed."

"Well, I wouldn't have knocked if I didn't see any lights on, but I figured what the hell, ya know? I mean, everyone knows your sorta an insomniac anyways, so what's it matter?" He handed the bag off to Mokuba as he said this. "'Sides, I didn't get off work till now anyways. I didn't really have a choice."

I wanted to be empathic with him. I was, really. I understood how he felt on these occasions. Not coming home until everything seemed completely dead and you still wide awake, searching for those glimmers of sleep even though there were tasks that were still left to be done (but not likely to be finished).

Mokuba seemed to step back as I stepped forward. Throughout the entire time that I was going on with Joey in the darkness, this was my only indication that he knew anything at all about the relationship, but it was a small indication and nothing more.

"Go on then," I urged, my hand out of my pocket. He nodded, and he kept staring at me, waiting for some kind of brash action from me. I wondered if, in these moments, my actions and personality had been watered down by the wine.

Once he handed it off the Mokuba, I stepped closer. "Now you can leave. You're dirtying the doorstep," I said, and I took a sip of the wine. I didn't let my eyes stray too far away from his. In the darkness of the foyer, the only light far behind him on the lawn, I could see his eyes most clearly, and I didn't doubt that he could see mine so clearly as well.

"I didn't take ya ta drink Kaib'," he said.

I said the next thing not as pleasantry, but as if I was actually engaging him, as if the two people I had created were sudden coinciding in the same being. "It's my birthday; I can do whatever I want."

His faced irked up in a way that made it seem like he was going to laugh; I suppose he did, but I didn't hear it. "Boy, isn't that special." He mocked scanning around the foyer. "Not much a shindig, but ya could pass the wine around."

Something flared inside me. The watered down personality suddenly drowned heavily, my throat clogged with the words I wanted to say to him, wanted to hurl at him to make sure he stayed disinterested. The next action was one that I know caused the greatest rift. I sneered at him and kept walking forward, which he responded by walking back into the thin, icy rain droplets that was little more than sprinkle against our cheeks. I could hear it clink against the wine glass, likely a little bit of slush in the mix as this October was particularly cold. I had him fully outside of the house. I looked back at Mokuba who was about ready to stop me, bursting out as I threw my hand out, the wine splashing over his face and dripping down, staining his white shirt and slowly fading out of the way as the rain continued to soak him. "Take what you can lick up," I said, and pivoted on my heel, going back inside. The warm air of the house made me shiver immediately.

"Goddamn prick! I was jus' jokin' ya asswipe."

I went back to the kitchen and stood in my solace trying to figure out what it was I just did. At the moment the action seemed warranted, seemed like something I should have been doing, but the more I thought about it, the more my mind tried to relive the specific moment, the more I realized that I might have permanently stung any kind of outside relationship. All of those pleas to meet 'irl' would become pleas alone and I would have to completely deny him.

The glass dropped from my hand and shattered against the floor. I was shaking from the saturation, peeling my wet shirt off, ignoring the shattered glass on the floor. I leaned up against the counter and took a few deep breaths. This was all too much. Too much struggle and hurt. And yet, somewhere in the back of my mind, there was a little voice that was telling me this was all the right thing to do and it was condoning these actions.

My heart pounded, and I could feel the tears pricking in my eyes but they had to stop. My face wasn't wet enough with rain to be able to hide them.

"Nii-sama!"

He was going to berate me, I was sure. I stood up, my back straight, and I pulled myself to the point that the tears seemed to pull back into my eyes. "Watch out for the glass," I said to him, looking at it where it laid near translucently on the floor. He stopped just before it.

"What was that for? He was just…joking."

"It doesn't matter."

"Yes it does. I know you don't like Joey but…but…"

"I have my reasons," I said. My heart had shied back into my chest, receded into the depths of the muscle where it hid like a frightened child. It was easier when it wasn't lingering around to be listened to. Of course it chirped at me to send a text to Joey, apologized for what that prick did to him. But how was I to know that? And, being our correspondence was sparse, I didn't think he was about to tell me either.

I knelt down to pick up the glass piece. Mokuba was right there in front of me, grasping my hands tightly between his. "Nii-sama…something's been wrong with you."

"Yes, I know," I said, but didn't bother any further. Mokuba could see the depression in me. The shameful, pitied feeling of knowing that there was a weakness and I hadn't found a decent way to rid myself of it.

"It's going to be okay, we'll get through this. But you can't just…lash out at people."

"I can do whatever I want," I nearly yelled.

"Nii-sama! Stop it, just listen!"

"I can't," I roared. "Don't you get it? I'm not the same person I was before."

"So you're going to change everything? You're just going to do whatever you want and everyone squirm? You think that's going to work?" He slide over on his knees and wrapped his arms around my neck. "I know you're upset."

"It's more than that…"I muttered.

"I know. But it's going to be okay. I promise."

I wanted to just melt in his grip, but something told me not to. I hugged him back, clenching my teeth to hold back any of the sobs that were coming up my throat. I thought of the composure everyone was used to seeing with me. Hell, even Joey was used to seeing me together, even as I was breaking apart in front of him.

I was no more together than the glass scattered on the kitchen floor. "I love you, nii-sama," and instead of hugging me closer, he pulled me at arm's length and looked at me critically. He let his hands fall from my shoulders, bringing them up enough that I could see them.

_I love you so much, and it will get better. I'll be here with you_. I smiled as I read his signing. I nodded.

_I love you, too. _

I took him by the arms and eased him up, pushing him away from all of the broken glass. I was still shaky and cold, the rain seeming to have soaked straight through to my DNA, and I looked out to where it pattered heavily against the window. There was nothing but blackness. Joey was gone.

* * *

It wasn't the best birthday that anyone could ask for, that was for certain. It had its qualities to it, though. Most would probably say that the prospect of breaking down in tears isn't exactly the kind of gift that they want, but I wondered if, for a millisecond, there was some kind of higher being that was playing part in all of it.

I let the idea go. Coincidences happened, and it wasn't as if I was asking for Joey to come, or that he knew it was my birthday in the first place. After that day, I tried to be a little better. I tried not to let it get to me because I realized it was only a weakness if I let it be.

I found a small glimmer in the whole issue. Being able to read lips, while difficult, was something that could likely come in handy. As I was sitting in meetings, speaking to the men, I realized that my ability gave me an edge. I could watch their lips as they muttered, or as they spoke to anyone other than me. It was a little bit devious, but it was almost like a key into their minds. People often spoke to me in a way to try and please me, which meant that they were usually speaking out of their asses and not saying what they meant in place of what they were really thinking.

I was watching men leave when I received a text from Joey. This had been the first in a long time. It was probably a week after my birthday or so.

* * *

_We hvnt tlked._

_No we havent._

_Did i do smthn wrng?_

_No. Ive been busy and having a hard time the past few weeks. Im sorry._

_Its ok. I ws jst wrred_

_Im glad your concerned. It was mostly my fault I suppose. I nearly had a breakdown a few days ago. _

_Wat hppend?_

_I…I dont really know. It all just sort of hit me one night and I freaked out on a friend of mine. Broke a glass and everything. _

_Wow. U seem so mld mnnerd_

_I usually am. I just totally lost it. It had all been building up in me for a while so I guess I just let it all out or something like that. _

_I see. Dont no if u wnt 2 tlk abt it but…how is it gng?_

_Better. Ive been learning sign language and reading lips. Im going to be okay. _

_Thts gr8 _

_Yeah. Hey I know this was brief but I have something Im going into. _

_K. 1 more thng._

_What?_

_I no ths mght sound weird but…do u hve sme addrss I cld mail smthn 2?_

_What do you mean?_

_I wnt 2 give u a prsnt._

* * *

At that point I figured the jig was up, but if it was I bet he would have said something before then. I wasn't so sure because Joey seemed like the type that would never speak to me again, or rub it in my face that he knew it was me the moment that he found it out. From that moment, I took it carefully.

* * *

_A present? What for?_

_I just…wnt 2 gve u smthng_

_O…kay…let me think a minute. _

_I no u prbly dont wnt me 2 no whre u live. I get it. Jus…myb…office?_

_Um…sure._

* * *

I was in luck. The thing about the corporate building was that I could direct whatever he sent in a way that it would seem like it was going to the KaibaCorp. Headquarters. Of course, he would probably have simply asked if I worked management there, which I could tell him yes, but that would make things ever more complicated, or so I thought. I was still, constantly, waiting for him to tell me that he knew it was me. But then, once you dump wine on someone, I think they would stop playing games with you and simply stop.

So I gave him the address, and he was satisfied. So was I. In fact, I was especially curious what he could be sending to me. I was sure it wasn't because it was my birthday, though the sentimentality seemed the same. I couldn't wait to receive it. But then, I knew that I would have to wait for whatever it was.

He was shy.

* * *

I went to him after work. The day had been long, but I had gotten off early enough that I could still go and visit him. As I drove, I kept looking over to the passenger seat where I had placed the letter that I had written. It was only folded, not sealed. The way I had seen his arm made me think that it would be difficult for him to handle an envelope.

I had waited three days. That was the maximum amount of angst I could stand before I made myself go to the hospital. I spoke briefly with the nurse who directed me to the third floor. Once I got up there, I could feel a strange vibe. It was like meeting him in the bar, except this time he knew who I was but wasn't expecting me.

I stood before his door, and despite the minimal level of hearing I had, I could still hear the laughter seeping from the room. I groaned, but pressed on. I wasn't turning back now.

When I opened the door, the laughter stopped. It was like a brought a plague upon them. Still, I looked to none of them, only to him where he was propped up. The cuts on his face were minimal, only slight bruising around his left eye and on his cheek. What I saw mainly, what wasn't covered by blanket or robe, was his arm, heavily bandaged and lying on pillow. It was complete bound from above his elbow down to his fingertips.

"Well, if it ain't Kaiba himself." I turned my attention to Tristan Taylor who sat back in his seat and crossed his arms tight, pretending he was menacing. Joey hadn't said anything, nor did it look like he was going to say anything. He mostly saw the letter in my hand. "What'd you come here to do? Pay him off or something?"

I walked up by his side and looked over to Yugi, who seemed sympathetic, and to Gardner, who looked like a guard dog for him. I probably should have brought flowers, but it might have typed them off. It seemed that there was only one that knew, and I doubt Yugi was going to tell the rest. Not until Joey was ready for them to know at least.

"This is for you," I said slowly, handing him the letter. He took it with his good hand and held it close to him. I backed away a few steps, watching him. He realized that I was waiting for him to read it, and he shifted around in bed. I noticed that he was extremely stiff, and he winced as he moved until he could open the letter up and read it. Taylor was hanging over his shoulder.

"Hey man, let me read it," Joey finally spoke, looking at Taylor critically. The brunet fell back into his seat.

I was backed against the door as he read, his friends leaning closer to him, curious at the careful scrawl. Occasionally he would look up to me, that same critical gaze all over me, before turning back to the pages. There were five all together. Not as much as he had given me, but enough to suffice, especially since I wrote them all in one sitting.

"So why not tell him all of whatever this is, Kaiba?" Yugi asked me. They must have gotten tired of waiting. I didn't blame Joey for being slow—not entirely—he did just get hit by a car.

"I have my reasons." Being it was Yugi that was likely told, I didn't see the need for further explanation.

When Joey finished, he put the letter in his lap and just stared at me, his eyes piercing. "So it's true, eh?" His voice was a little congested from swelling. "I proly don't gotta ask but…is there any proof?"

I expected more anger, but then I wondered if he was afraid of exerting himself at all. I sighed and came over to him, standing just in his line of vision as I brought my hands up and began signing.

_This is all the proof you need. The flowers were proof as well._

Joey was, of all things, smirking at me. "Sayin' thank you is a long winded process isn't it?" he asked, holding up the papers. I was glad he hid it that way.

"I can say it in many ways. Like you keeping your job," I said, assured that he probably had the job that wasn't really kind to him missing long stretches of time. Or a job that really had any decent kind of benefits. In which case I would be more than happy to oblige as a way of thanks. "I've stayed too long as it is, I have to go."

I could hear him trying to raise in bed, his friends circling around to push him back down. I was out the door before he could think to get up and totter after me. The door did open as I was halfway down the hall.

"Kaiba!" Yugi's squelched little voice called. I reluctantly slowed so he could catch up. "I know maybe it sounds dumb but…are you really going deaf?"

"That's the part you're worried about?"

"Well, I mean…I don't know…I'm not really _worried_ about the rest per se," he was articulate as usual.

"Yes, I am going deaf," as I spoke to him, I was also signing as I was speaking. "Everything I am saying to you now is something that I can sign. It is also something that I can hardly hear, just as your voice is practically gone." Yugi was staring, awestruck. "You have no questions about the false relationship?"

"It's not really false, I don't think. Just…misguided."

"Hmph." I lowered my head. "Make sure he doesn't do anything stupid and get himself hurt worse."

"Yeah," Yugi nodded as I brushed by him to leave. "You know he has to care for you somehow. He saved you, you know." I raised my hand for some reason, what I wasn't so sure. Acknowledging him maybe.

I knew there was something. I was never going to deny that there wasn't something; it was just a matter of figuring out what exactly. Then my phone buzzed in my pocket.

* * *

_Thnk u_

_Why thank me?_

_Idk…_

_Youre crazy. _

_I no. I sved u. _

_For that I owe you a great amount. _

_But no 'ty'_

_I think I owe more than that. _

_Yeah?_

_I love you._

* * *

A/N: So, yeah. I figured that it was fit. He probably said it roughly...three or four months after Joey said it to him, so it wasn't like it was immediate. If anything, Kaiba is extremely shy, and him saying this is probably something that is more...reserved over the phone because I doubt he could muster it in person.

And yes, there is still a little bit more to be read, but it is close to a close.

anyways, till next time, KenSan out!


	10. Chapter 9

A/N: So this is shorter, mostly because it speaks for itself I like to think. It's mostly one scene, and I think it's pretty important, so I hope you do too. Also, I'm sorry for the lack of update, I've been working like crazy and then I was working on this in the meantime, then my comp crashed and I didn't have it backed up. So...yeah. This was completely rewritten, mostly in one sitting.

Have fun

* * *

Chapter 9.

I'm sure you're supposing that after I said that to Joey everything was pretty much a happily ever after. We got together, we made nice. All those little loose ends in the middle were something that we didn't need to worry about. Well, that's the thing about people. You can never predict how they feel about something. As I said sometime earlier, it is sometimes easier when emotions weren't involved. If it was "just business" and we could be done with it. But affection and love isn't like that, as anyone knows.

Joey didn't make any attempts at contacting me afterwards. I had plugged his number back into my phone just in case he did, but from the beginning I had a feeling that I wasn't going to get much of a response. He was like me when it came to be told "I love you". I don't know how he looked, but I can tell that he got pretty stoic about it. Of course, his circumstances were a little different. He was in love; he loved me when he thought that I was someone else. Now that I was a face and a name, the dynamic was different. He didn't know how to react.

We were dancing. Badly. But dancing nonetheless.

I was trying to keep it going long after the music had ended. I was trying to lead him, trying to give him a reason to keep dancing. I doubted very seriously that he was going to take any more steps, and I was resolved to drag him back up. But there were only so many ways that I could do it without seeming desperate. Because I wasn't desperate. If I were, I would have just went to the Turtle Game Shop and waited for him. He had to show up sometime, didn't he? Even if you aren't desperate, there is some kind of thriving—some kind of burning—that you want to assuage. You want comfort. Closure, if worst came to worst.

But I didn't know how to come by it. I sent him a PM, not much else. I didn't try and text him again, I didn't try to harass him on the forums. I did keep the site up looking for him, but he never showed up on the IM system. I wondered if he had taken me off his friend's list.

After two weeks, I moved on mentally. I pretended that there was some reason that he was unable and continued on with my life. If he didn't want me, then there was no reason to beg. That was something that he would do, not something that I would.

I got up one earlier one morning in particular. I wasn't sure why—like my insomnia—but I took it for what it was. I got ready quickly, taking a shower and dressing. There was nothing particularly special about this day that I could think of. I was meeting with another company head, but at this point it was so commonplace that I didn't make too many efforts to be out of the ordinary.

I was walked down the quiet, hallowed halls of the manor. There was little light and little noise. I kept my ears open thinking that maybe Mokuba was awake and waiting for me, but even at the early hour, I doubted he was considering getting up. I sat at the kitchen table for the longest time, watching the snowflakes fall outside. It made me unconsciously fiddle with my turtleneck, tugging on it until it was no longer pressed against my chin awkwardly. I was also straightening the lapels of the dull grey jacket that I had picked out. I had realized, almost too quickly, how depressed my clothing choice seemed to become. I sighed and turned my attention to something else, making a mental note of just how long it had been between me and him. Thirteen months of playing these games—it is what they were—and finally the well-crafted scheme was down the drain. The persona was gone, there was only Seto Kaiba. BlueS2510 was nothing more than a useless penname that idle forum goers thought was more of a nuisance than a help.

Around 06:30, Mokuba was in the kitchen, dressed for school and sitting across from me at the table eating breakfast. I hadn't ate or made any coffee. Something was telling me to go to that coffee shop that I had seen Joey in so many months before.

Mokuba was curious of my near catatonic state. The blank staring in the long lasting quiet wasn't something he was used to, even on early mornings like these. I offered no explanation, only stood from the table at around a quarter till seven and said: "I'm going to get going; busy day." He nodded and stood, giving me a hug before watching me leave towards the foyer. I grabbed a heavy dress coat and went to my car, the windows already cleaned off by the help that was just arriving.

As I slid in, I wondered if Joey was bitter. It was like being thirsty and finally getting water, only to find out it was warm. Not really what you wanted, but for some reason it would suffice. For him, he would rather die of thirst I was willing to bet. Better than dealing with the disgusting thing he had come across.

But how disgusting did he consider me? He had risked his life for the sake of mine. Was that because he acknowledge his affection to a certain point that he would actually come to my rescue, or was he simply being a good citizen, a selfless one, just because that was who he was. I thought it was a little bit of both. Then again, he was coming out to speak with me anyways, wasn't he? He had brought the flowers because he had noticed what the truth was. Was he going to berate for the careless behavior, or for the fact that I been lying to him, or was he actually going to speak to me on a human level before he lost the chance to the car plowing into him in the little selfless act?

Maybe he was bitter because I wasn't by his side the entire time. If I cared enough, I should have been there like the rest of his friends, holding his hand and assuring him that everything was alright.

Like he expected me to be like that. He should know me better than that by know. We had to put up with each other for long enough, after all.

Maybe he expected something different because of the person he had encountered online.

As you can tell, this was a lot of back and forth for me. Wondering all the possibilities, hardly factoring in that he was hit by a car and that he could possibly still be hospitalized. For this long, I doubted. His injuries were minor in consideration, but I didn't see everything that was wrong nor did I inquire about it.

A little bit after seven I came up to the coffee shop. It was pretty empty except for the employees meandering around behind the counter. I went inside and took slow steps, my eyes taken from the counter and looking to my wallet as I pulled it out of my pocket and took a few bills. When I looked back up, I was probably halfway up to the counter. I stopped dead in my tracks.

There he stood, looking at me like some kind of bug. I had never figured that he would be working at the coffee shop. Then I thought about it. He was sitting there with his phone that first day. I had seen his elbows waded on something green—I thought it was a coat—it was his apron, which he wore now. I walked up to the counter, holding onto it so I didn't tip over. There was no chipper "can I help you" coming from his mouth. He only leaned his head to the side and looked at me, waiting for me to say something to him. I let my eyes fall for a just a second, staring at his nametag that was nearly hid by the strap of his sling. I could still see where his arm was bandaged. When I looked him in the face, he still had minor bruising that had turned an awkward yellow color where it was healing.

I could feel myself cringing when looking at him. Not because it was ugly (which it was) but because, in one facet, this was my fault while in the other it was his fault. "You gonna keep starin' at me like that?" he was quiet in his manner, likely because there was a partially officious looking woman just behind him. His supervisor I supposed.

"I can do it if I want. I don't see much a rush behind me," I said, and I looked over my shoulder as emphasis. It was still barren, though the work rush was likely going to be coming in very shortly. "I'm not going to mince words with you—"

"Oh good, I thought this was gonna be long winded."

"If you let me finish, this will end up being much simpler."

"I don't really wanna talk about all this crap, ya know? I just sorta wanna pretend none of this happened. That all right with you?"

"Not really, no."

"Yeah, well, too bad."

"Why don't you listen to me for five minutes and see what I have to say."

"So ya can use that crazy CEO mumbo-jumbo and bring me over ta your side of this? No way. Sides, I ain't usin' my break now, I just got here."

"Is that your supervisor?" I asked, pointing to the woman that was behind him, speaking it another employee. I noticed that he was watching my hands more than watching me. I knew that I was speaking with them as I spoke in slow, exact tones.

"Don't matter."

"Joey, you're making this far more complicated than it needs to be."

"Oh, I'm the one makin' it complicated. Of course it's me!"

That drew the woman's attention, and she looked to me more than she looked to Joey. It was in that same moment that Joey realized that I didn't call him 'Wheeler', 'mutt', or any other combination of said derogatory terms towards him.

"Is there something I can help you with?" the woman supervisor asked me. She was glowering at Joey, but not being verbal in her frustration. I pinched the bridge of my nose.

"Is there any way I could speak with Joseph for a few moments? It's a personal matter regarding the accident a few weeks ago. Working out kinks," I said, and I gave her a mildly genial smile (likely more of a smirk, but close enough) and she paused, looking towards the doors where the bell had tolled. She then looked to Joey, smiling, and nodded.

"Make it quick Kaiba-san."

I watched as Joey came from behind the counter. He favored his right side, but only just a little bit. He eased himself down to a booth slowly, and I followed just behind.

"Let me explain this in as few words as I can," I said, trying to think of a way to make it less long winded than it was likely going to be. I didn't doubt that supervisor was timing us, and I didn't want to be the reason that Joey got fired (though really, a few words with the supervisor and things would be fine). "At first it was for fun. I thought it would be amusing, and then it turned into something that was out of my control, something that I realized became something else. I didn't reveal who I was because I could tell how you would react. I tried to fight everything you put up to me, until finally I decided we reached the climax. It was do it now or risk losing something that had potential. I wasn't going to let it spoil." I looked him in the eye, and then looked down to my hands, bringing them in better view as I said: "Everything I told you is the truth. I stick to my word."

He raised a brow critically, the kind of look that I would give that would have people around me stammering like they had done something wrong and they were going over everything to try and figure out what it was exactly they had done to displease me. "I just have a hard time believin' ya…."he shook his head. "Figures you would be that ass that would torment me, huh? Did ya just go lookin' for somethin'?"

"I found you through Mokuba," his eyes bulged a moment. "He had nothing to do with it. I only looked at the site that he was on. He only just found out, just like you did."

"Shoulda figured…"he brought his good hand up to the elbow of his bad, cradling it. "Managerial position, eh? Gotta brother, heh. I shoulda seen it. Makes sense when I look at ya now," but he rolled his eyes and let out a breathy little laugh. I wasn't entirely sure if he felt ignorant, betrayed, or angry. Maybe all of the above.

"It's not like I really lied to you," I said, to continue. "I omitted one bit of information. Just like, as far as you knew, you were doing. Red and Blue, right?"

"Still don't make it right. You're still a jerk. Playin' around with me like that…" He leaned close.

"Like what? Getting you all riled up because you were just like I was? Falling into something that you didn't really realize until it was a little too late? Didn't think it was possible that you could fall in love with someone online, is that it?" I held out my hands as if I was exposing my chest, my heart, to him. "I did nothing that your hormones didn't do to your own body. I was just text on a screen the entire time. The fact that you got riled up is because now you have an attraction that you're not sure about. You want to know something?" he didn't really make any indication either way. "I _am_ sure about my attraction. If you want to throw away something before knowing it, that's completely your choice. But right now, you have to make the decision. Take it or leave it."

He grit his teeth, baring them like the angry dog everyone took him for. "See, this is what I was talking about."

"What? Me being blunt and honest? That's all I do in business, because it's easier than playing some game or dancing some dance."

"Have some humanity about it. I'm not buyin' somethin' on sale, I'm considerin' a relationship with an…individual…that I'm not sure about."

"Maybe it'd be easier if you thought of it more like merchandise."

"This is why I don't like this!" he said quickly, and went to rise, only to wince and nearly fall back in his seat. I got up and came over to him, putting my arm across his back and easing him up. Maybe it seemed random, but if he wanted to see humanity, the randomness of it all worked. "I'm fine."

"You're stubborn and still battered. Don't tell me you're fine."

"Stop being such an ass," he said back down, but this time I sat beside him. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"You want to see my humanity you're going to have to look at me closer than you've seen before. Why not start now?" I looked away from him, over to the supervisor that was dealing with customers. I checked my watch knowing I had to be going soon. "It's completely your choice to ignore all the time we've already spent together," I said, hoping he knew that meant the online transactions. "Since you seem so willing to be blinded by your own anger, it's perfectly fine. Feel hurt about all of this; lick your wounds. Just understand that I mean everything I say, and this is a limited time offer. That way if you say no I can get through the pining and get on with other things," I said, and I stood up, going around the table and towards the counter. I did stop and ask: "Your arm's not broken is it?"

"It'…it's uh…minor fracture," he said, trying to pick himself up after all that I had said. I'm sure I had thrown him a curveball. "Nothin' I ain't dealt with before."

I wondered if he was considering the humanity of the questions. That seemed to be what always stumped him with me. My 'lack of humanity' if it could so be called. That's what seemed to stump everyone. How Mokuba stayed around me when I was so cold and callous about the things that were around. I could see Joey's brain working to consider all those many months of transactions, and I half imagined him pulling out his phone and looking at texts, though I doubt he saved his. Not like I did.

Maybe I was just more sentimental about all of this than he was. Maybe I was letting myself get a little too emotional about it all. But I figured that was a good thing. Letting those emotions out for everyone to see. At least on a limited basis.

I went up to the line that had formed and I waited. Joey made his way back behind the counter, taking his supervisor's place to take the orders and hand them back to the people that were milling behind him. When I got up there, he still had a slightly curious, slightly dumbfounded look on his face. It was okay that he was confused, at least he was thinking.

I ordered, speaking to him as if we had talked about nothing, and I waited for the coffee to be brought up, handing him the money. He fumbled with everything a little bit still using what he could of his fingers to operate the cash register. When the coffee came up, he passed it over to me with his hand on top of the lid like he was trying to balance himself against it. I doubted that he really thought about this motion. Most people grabbed it in the middle.

I put my hand over top of his and smiled coyly, again thinking that it probably looked more like a smirk than a smile. He hid the mild surprise and let his hand go. I lifted mine up, and he drew away like a turtle in its shell. Before I took it again, I signed something quickly.

_Get well Joseph. And think quickly. _

He furrowed his brows to me like I was crazy, but I didn't acknowledge it, only walked out of the shop and got in my car.

Strange, the things that we find comforting.

* * *

A/N: This kind of feels like an ending to me, but I know its not. There's still more to be said, and there will be, let me assure you. But we're in real time now. He's told the entire story and is now moving onto it as it goes, so I hope you're ready for this to come to a close shortly. Until then, KenSan out!


	11. Chapter 10

A/N: So, will Joey actually answer him? Will they get together? Read onward.

* * *

Chapter 10.

When he gave me no reaction in the coming days, I let my mind float into the set that it was over with and that there was no reason for me to think about it. I thought, at least fantastically, that it would be as simple as turning off a switch to rid myself of the affection. Realistically, the humanity of any person says that just isn't possible.

Don't get me wrong, I wasn't sitting around in a study crying or pining. It was simply a matter of physical timing. I could feel myself being off, looking at a clock and telling that tasks that I could usually finish fairly quickly instead became somewhat tedious processes. But no one noticed this slouch. No one but me, because no one but me really knew what was going on.

I kept in this rut, and I kept my head down in the face of any possible scrutiny. My behavior was further clipped, and it didn't take me very long to become bored or annoyed by what was in front of me. What was worse was that I thought I handled the ignorance of fellow business well. With a shorter fuse, I found myself walking out of meetings simply because I didn't want to expend what little energy I had to try and turn them in the right direction. It created a lot of press. I found myself hounded, cars surrounded by reporters waiting for something else to happen. Nothing new.

But it became very interesting in my mind to think that all of this was the effects of rejection. How I took it at least. I had never aligned myself with someone strongly enough for their feelings on me to actually make such a reaction, such a dent in my skin. I almost had to laugh at how much Joey Wheeler, a man who had, for the longest time, been an enemy of mine, effected how I thought about myself.

Really, I never thought I would be standing in front of a mirror and asking myself if I was really that bad of a person for deceiving him. Logically, he was pulling the same stunt. But as he said, he didn't know it was me even though I knew it was him.

But I took it in stride. After two or three weeks (hellish because of the interest of the press) as it seemed to fade away some, I found myself coming back to the corporate building, climbing out of the car with a guard by my side, keeping a barrier between me and a small mob of reporters. I clutched the handle of my briefcase tight, though I wasn't losing it. The chain of the handcuff clinked against my cufflink. This was mostly in connection to my hearing loss. I couldn't hear someone approach that might want to steal it (and there have been those who have tried) and it was a safety precaution that I figured was wise.

Once inside, there was the usual chirping of staff members saying their hellos as I came through. I took the elevator to my office, my foot tapping anxiously, like there was something I was waiting for. As I passed my secretary, typing, I tapped on the corner of her desk. She looked up.

"Have there been any calls?"

"No sir." She was always clipped and curt, so when I could hear her prepared to continue, I kept my eyes to her. "But, there was a disturbance."

"And that is?"

"Well…there was a man detained for trying to get to your office. He never made it in the door…"

"And who would that be?"

"I don't know. Just some blond haired man-child," she scoffed. I didn't need much more explanation. "Security has him detained. They're awaiting orders from you."

I sighed and went into my office, pulling out a key to detach the briefcase from me wrist. I then made a quick call down to security telling them I would be on my way. I could hear Joey in the background, screaming as if he were going to go barbarian on them at any moment.

When I got to the door, I tugged on the hem of my shirt and flattened it before entering. As I did, I caught his eye momentarily before saying: "You could have called ahead first."

He sneered pulling at the chair that they had him bound to. I had been to security so few times that I half expected Joey to be in a cell, not zip-tied to a folding chair. "What the hell am I supposed to tell the bastards?"

"You could have called _me_ ahead. You have my number."

Joey rolled his eyes. "Like you would have answered." He said this after a few moments of thought.

"You deleted it, didn't you?"

"Who says?" He pulled again. I shook my head and pulled up a chair across from him.

"Untie him and stand outside," I told the men lingering around. They were slow in their response, looking at me suspiciously. "He poses no risk."

Once they had him undone and were departing behind me, he gave them his middle finger before slumping back in the seat. I crossed my arms and waited for him to start speaking. Instead, he was content with copying my motions and starting at me with some kind of half-glare.

"Are you going to explain why you came or are you just going to look at me like I'm some kind of beast of burden?"

"I'm tryin' to figure out what to say," he snorted, and let his arms to his sides. I didn't doubt that his left was still bothering him. It was still bandaged. "'Cause obviously you don't give shit enough to tell them not to go haywire when I come."

"They thought you were trying to break into my office."

"What the hell—? I didn't even make it past the third floor for Chrissakes."

"That's beside the point. You are an unauthorized individual on the premises and I'm going to bet that you looked pretty suspicious with whatever you were doing." He grumbled. "Besides, I'm sure you could have found the number to KaibaCorp. At least to the main desk and they could have put you through some transfers. Trying to talk to me isn't as difficult as everyone seems to think it is."

"Yeah, yeah. Blah, blah, blah…"he shook his head and kept shaking it, like there was something that he still didn't understand. I folded my hands atop my crossed legs and waited for him. He was jarred, confused. Likely trying to spit up emotions that were hard to swallow in the first place.

"Why have you come?"

"To talk to you. Why do you think?" he snapped.

"Then talk. I'm listening."

He lowered his head. "I uh…I've been thinkin' a lot 'bout all this. And about what ya said."

"You have? Well, that's wonderful to hear." He looked at me briefly, not to glare at the interruption, but something softer.

"I've been with some people; none of 'em really were what I was lookin' for. Seemed like there was some kinda link that was jus missin'. Like I couldn't talk to them at all. Like what I either said went over their heads—"and he paused, probably expecting me to say something "—or they thought I was inferior in some way. Which I thought that was how you were since, really, who dontcha think is under you? But I…I started lookin' through the IMs and stuff, I noticed somethin' funny. I told ya whatever that hell came off the top of my head and there wasn't nothin'. Ya just continued the conversation. Which is probably leagues above most people I've ever been with."

"I'm not polite when there's no cause for it."

"Yeah. I figured. And I'll admit, ya drive me insane sometimes—" I cracked a genuine grin "—but at the same time, I probably drive you the same amount of nuts. And if we can…counteract that with each other, why not….give this a try maybe…"

"Took you a long time to consider it."

"Hey, don't push it. I didn't have to come back at all."

I shrugged. "I was simply stating the obvious."

"You're still Seto Kaiba keep in mind. Ya push my buttons, and you ain't off the hook for the past. And it's gonna take me a bit to get past that whole…deception thing."

"If that 'who deception thing' hadn't happened, we wouldn't be in this situation. So be thankful that I ever spoke to you."

He snorted. "If you're going to be like that about it…"

"It's a joke, Joseph."

"Yeah right. If that's a joke, you have the worst sense of humor I've ever heard of."

Again, I shrugged. "That would be why I'm not a comedian. Besides, have you ever heard of a funny businessman?"

He cracked a grin. It was a sweet, sunshiny little grin that I liked. There was nothing about it that was deceiving, nothing behind his eyes to read. It was just him, his heart on his sleeve, ready to give himself to this effort whether it worked or it didn't.

I stood from my seat, figuring that Joey had said his peace. He followed me up, ending by saying: "I don't know if this'll work, but what the hell right?"

"It's a very resigned outlook a relationship."

"Well, this ain't traditional, so I figure I'll stick with what I got," he said. "Not like either of us say. 'Oh hey, by the way, I think I like you. Wanna go to a movie or somethin'?'"

He came up to my side, prepared to leave, and I grabbed his arm to hold him back. "How about I do something a little more romantic? Dinner perhaps?" Joey looked over his shoulder, surprised.

"Yeah? Well, maybe. Why don't ya prove ta me how much you care first, eh?"

I blinked. "How exactly do I do that?"

He laughed. "How many relationships have you been in?"

"I don't see how that's relevant."

He was blank for a second. "I want ya ta kiss me, you idiot."

Again, I blinked, and then I looked around at the room and the surveillance equipment. When I looked back at him, he was still expectant. So I went forward. The part of it was, I never thought of anything more than movie kisses I had seen before. And when I kissed him, I was mildly surprised by how he pressed back, and the feel on his tongue. I immediately drew back, hiding back the heat that was collecting in my cheeks. He had some kind of winning grin on his face, and he brought his hand up to my cheek like I was five years old and said: "We'll work on it. Jus hope I don't gotta teach you everythin'."

I took a deep breath and imagined myself grabbing him and pressing him against the wall to try again. I wasn't about to ask what I did wrong, because honestly, I didn't want to know. Instead, I walked out ahead of him, my face stony to try and hid the weird mix of euphoria, confusion, and a bit of shame. He came out behind me.

"Joseph is a friend of mine. Next time he is here, I expect respect to be given to him properly. He was simply lost," I offered as an explanation. "Simply lead him to me if he has become lost."

"Yessir, Mr. Kaiba." One of them answered. They filed back into the surveillance room.

"I want that to be passed on," I ordered, getting a curt nod from them.

Joey and I walked down the hall, and about halfway down, I grabbed his hand. I wasn't about to be considered the weak one in the relationship. "So, where are ya takin' me?"

"A place with a dress code. So dress in your best."

"Hmph. Surprise, eh?"

"Exactly."

"Ya want me ta meet ya somewhere?"

"I'm sure you can find my home," I said. "Just meet me there and we'll continue on. Be there at around seven tonight; that way I can inspect you before we go."

"Gotta make sure I ain't got fleas?" he asked, leery.

"No, just to make sure you dress up enough. If not, I'm sure I can come up with something."

"Can ya give me a hint on how dressy?"

"You need a jacket."

"Like…a suit jacket, jacket?"

"Something like that."

He squeezed my hand. "A'right." We stepped into the elevator, and as the door sealed shut he pushed me against the wall, much in the way I envisioned myself doing to him, and he kissed me in the same hard way that he was pushing. I brought my arms up around his neck, and tried not to be so surprised by his tongue as he tried slipping it between my teeth. I felt clumsy, like fingers that were numb from the cold and then trying to type. And I could sense him leading me along, dealing with it. He pulled back.

"Stop bein' so damn afraid. You're a guy that does what he wants and gets it how he wants it, eh?" I didn't even imagine trying to answer that question. "Think like that, and suck up some of the saliva and you'll be good as gold." I was about to bring my hand up to my mouth, curious if I was drooling, but he pressed against me in some kind of hug, tugging on my collar, his teeth brushing against my neck as his lips gently kissed against it. I looked up to the ceiling, my hands on his back. The only thing that it seemed like I could feel, besides the warmness of his lips, was his groin against mind. A sort of pulsating went through me, and I clamped my lips shut.

Joey had more experience than I did, and as much it felt like I was losing, at the same time, it meant that he was going to spend time trying to make it all better.

I gripped a handful of his shirt when he brought his tongue up to my ear, his teeth nibbling, his breath getting caught. And then I realized he was waiting for me to do something in return. I bent my head down, away from his affection, and I began returning the favor, feeling him writhe in my hands. Something went right. He pressed harder against me. My leg moved to the side without command. And then his slid his hands beneath my shirt, against my midriff, against my lower back. Sliding them across like grass. And I shivered and almost couldn't hold back a quick moan, my head almost banging against the wall of the elevator.

He gave me one quick kiss on the lips before backing away. The elevator doors were opening then. I had ten seconds to go from disheveled to together. I pulled at the hem on my shirt again, flattening it out. And I pressed my legs together, though there was only so far I could go.

It was a short elevator ride, and Joey had already gotten me hot and bothered.

"So, does it really matter if I go or stay?" I didn't hear him say this, nor did I see it. And when I looked at him, confused, he repeated it again.

"It's fine whichever way," I replied. My fingers couldn't really form the words correctly. I stepped out of the elevator and walked by my secretary and into my office. Joey was shortly behind.

When I sat at my desk, I finally felt controlled again. I felt in control, that this was my domain. But I looked to Joey who sat down across the room, and I thought to myself how it didn't really matter if I was a little bit out of control. Though I was going to have to start leading, in the very least.

I went on with my day, a smile on my face.

* * *

That night, I fiddled with the tie I was wearing, Mokuba watching me in the background intently. I hid nothing from him, and he almost seemed more excited than I was. Really, all I was thinking about was what had happened in the elevator. Just as I finished straightening my tie, I heard the doorbell ring.

"Must be him."

"You can answer it," I told Mokuba. "I'll be there in a minute." He raced off, and I reached into my closet pulling out three different jackets, one of them bound to go with anything that Joey was wearing. I didn't trust him to be all together. I walked out just after, hearing as Mokuba spoke to Joey, laughing immediately.

When I stepped in the foyer, the images of throwing wine all over him still very fresh in my mind, I gave him a genial smile as I looked him over, inspecting him very thoroughly. "I'm impressed," I said, laying the jackets on end table nearby. "You clean up nice." He had a button up shirt tucked into a nice (albeit worn) pair of pants and what looked like a blue sport's jacket. It wasn't the very best, but it would definitely pass.

"These are sorta my…interview clothes. It okay?"

I kept looking him over. "Do you own a comb?" I scoffed. His hair was neater than normal, but still a little messy.

"Yeah," I came up to him and put my hands to his top button, undoing it.

"There, a little less stuffy."

"Says the man wearin' a tie."

I pulled a comb out of my pants pocket. "Try and tame the mess," I said. "Meet me outside when you're done." I had pretended that earlier hadn't gotten to me, even though it had racked me through and through. As I left, I could hear Mokuba snickering while Joey tried to get the comb through his thick hair.

Reluctantly, as I stood outside, I pulled something else out of my pocket and began fiddling with it, pulling it around my ear and tucking it inside. After playing with a few dials, the world seemed to come to better life, and it took a moment to get used to the feeling, though I had used it several times before. By that time, Joey was outside, his hair somewhat tame, bangs partially tucked back. I played around with my hair, covering my ears just a bit more. I looked like a nervous, fiddling teenager. Joey smiled as if he had seen something else.

"What's up with those?"

"I am obligated, by law, to be able to hear when I am driving."

"Oh." He started at me a moment. "Why dontcha wear them all the time?"

"Because they don't work all that well," I replied. "Just enough that I could hear something if some kind of emergency was coming. Besides, I'm starting to like reading lips. Gives me an edge," I said, slipping into the driver's seat. Joey got into the passenger seat.

"You know, I was expecting a Ferrari or Lamborghini."

"Sports cars…"I rolled my shoulders. "Why do people always think I would drive a sports car?"

"Because you're rich as hell and if it ain't expensive, it ain't for you." He said.

"There are cars that are expensive that aren't sports cars," I replied. "But, this really isn't a good topic of conversation. I have a feeling we would end up arguing."

"Playful banter ain't nothin'," Joey said. "'Sides. I like talkin' about cars. It's somethin' I actually know about."

"Ah. And you would likely talk over my head, I'm sure." I said, glancing over to him. "I know enough to be able to know when someone is lying to me about something that needs to be fixed. I'm sure if I tinkered enough, I could probably fully figure it out. I just never put any effort into it."

"Ya should. If you can put together all those gizmos and stuff, I'm sure a car is a no brainer."

Somehow, the ego buffing wasn't doing anything for me. "You're not a picky eater I would hope."

"No. Not really," he said. "I mean, we're goin' somewhere fancy so I really got no room to be picky."

Joey's total resignation to how things began, and to how he had felt just a few weeks prior, was almost frightening, but then he did have those weeks to think about it. And it wasn't as if he didn't come without a fight. I chuckled to myself. "What's so funny?"

"Thinking about this situation. It's not exactly normal."

"You really think it would be? We ain't exactly a Romeo and Juliet thing. It's sorta more…I don't know. It's not anything. A love of the classes. Wonder what all them tabloids are gonna say tomorrow mornin' 'bout you. 'Seto Kaiba, Helpin' the Needy'. Heh…"

I was sure the press could be handled. Keeping them quiet was nothing, but I almost didn't want to keep quiet. They already knew about Joey saving me, why not give them something to feed on? So when we pulled up to the restaurant, I passed my keys to the valet and gave him a tip. Joey got out, looking at the restaurant, and I could tell by the look on his face that this was a place he knew but had never been to. He came around and swallowed heavily. "I shoulda wore a tie."

I took his hand and, just as we were at the door, gave him a small kiss, part of myself working up to it, the blush still on my cheeks. There was always a photographer staking out this place.

The dinner went well, and afterword I took him back to the manor, allowing him to leave in his car. There was nothing magnificent about the night, but it was just a first date, feeling each other out. We were both lukewarm, but it was dealing with the physical person, not the words on the screen. It was easy to pretend when you were reading as opposed to hearing someone. Funny, the puns in life I have.

Then, in a strike of thought, I pulled out my phone and began typing as I worked my way up to the front door.

* * *

_I know you no longer have my number Red. Heres it back. Also, I want you to know like from the beginning: All of this is on my terms._

* * *

And it didn't take but a minute to get the reply:

* * *

_Ur terms? Tat y u gotta wrk on the ki_

_Hush now. _

_Make me._

* * *

Endearing, isn't it?

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A/N: So, I think I may make an epilogue, but essentially this feels closed. At least it does to me. So one more chap peeps. Till next time, KenSan out!


	12. Epilogue

A/N: This is the final chapter. A small thing that really sums them up I think.

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Epilogue.

The thing about relationships is that they are a lot like people. They are volatile, they have their own emotions and moods, and they begin and end in the blink of an eye. The tricky parts of the relationship are two: sustainability and compatibility. Which, as many would probably say right off the bat, Joseph and I are not what people would deem 'compatible'. Sustainable? That's a different story all together. Not something I really want to consider. Not something any person in a relationship wants to consider.

But compatibility, well…all I have to do is think of a moment about a month after we decided that everything was okay and that we could manage not to kill each other long enough for a relationship.

Joey was getting a final checkup, and I had scheduled to meet with the audiologist, a checkup of my own. We went together, and I watched as the doctor removed the last of the bandages from his arm, a large purple line crawling down it where there was once a bleeding cut. I flashed to the moment the lights blared, and I had to shut my eyes and regain the normal state of mind. He ran his fingers down it and then looked at me, smiling.

"Looks better'n I thought it might."

"Feel okay?"

"The break wasn't the bad part," he said, swinging his legs over the edge of the gurney. The doctor had left and the nurse was finishing up. I tried to keep my eyes on his face but I couldn't help but look at the scar on his arm.

"Ya know…if yer thinkin' this is your fault or somethin' crazy like that…'member I was the one that pushed ya out of the way."

"Yeah. You were the idiot that thought it was okay. You didn't even think how badly you could have been hurt."

Joey had a sentimental look cross his face. His eyes drooped and a little smile popped up. "Ya would have been splatter on that street. I saved ya, and I did it 'cause…I don't know. It made sense. Funny how pissed off I was after," he shrugged. He took my hand again. The thing was that we really didn't take hands. We knit fingers more or less, and we kept it close so it didn't seem so open. We were perfectly comfortable with how we were. The way we held hands was more or less a mutual agreement. "'Cause I don't know how many people I'd do that for…and I jus saw that flower and it clicked all of a sudden….and then I woke up in the hospital with Yug, Tristan, and them and I thought 'why the hell'…"

We walked into the office and I signed in. He sat down, and tentatively I sat down with him. "That instinct kicked in, and you didn't know what to say."

"I jus…pretended. I made myself mad."

Before we could continue, I was called back, but I paused. "What's the matter?"

"I don't like being here," I replied. "I keep waiting for them to tell me that I'm going to be completely deaf."

Joey took my hand and gripped it tightly. "Yer gonna be okay. And no matter what they tell ya, I'll be here for ya."

I looked back, and I watched his lips when he repeated it because he thought that I hadn't heard him. And I couldn't help but notice, as I stood there half hunched with my hand entwined in his, that those words were some of the most comforting that I had heard in a very long time.

I don't know if he could tell that. I made no indication either way, maybe a nod, before I got up and disappeared into the back of the office. The entire time I was there, I was convincing myself this was true. No matter how many times he had told me, I was still concerned. It was the perfection beaten into me, that idea that you couldn't be wanted if you weren't the splitting image of perfection. But the doctor told me that I was still fine, that if there were any problems just to call him. When I got back out, he was still sitting there, flipping through a magazine with disinterest until he noticed that I was standing in the doorway.

With him looking at me, I couldn't help but think that this is us. This is our compatibility—

"Right as rain?" he asked.

"Could be better," I said. "But yes. I haven't really changed."

"Good thing," he said. "You get normal and I might not like ya anymore."

I shook my head and said, under my breath: "Same…" He batted my arm as we walked out.

—it's a work in progress.

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A/N: I figured its cute and a little bit funny at the same time. Something to tie some things together. This actually got editted...and it had several different possibilites and I just really liked this was the best, though essentially its just Kaiba telling anecdotes. But, I really hoped you enjoyed it.

Thank you very much readers and reviewers.

KenSan out!


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